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There are no fancy sign-up forms – just mention newsletter in the subject line of your email.
We've been sending out this PC Help Newsletter since 1994, and it contains no advertising of any kind – just useful computer tips.
Furthermore, your email address is safe with us – we don't share it with anyone under any conditions whatsoesver.
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Questions from Readers
Ron Wagner wrote with questions about having 10 to 20 documents open at a time. He asked if there's a quicker way to close them than clicking the upper-right-corner X in each one, and if there is an easy way to find them all the next time he turns on his PC. Well, open files' names are shown on one's Taskbar at the bottom of the screen. Right-clicking each and then clicking Close is often faster than using the X. As for re-opening the files, your 15 most recently used will be displayed if you click on Start>Recent Items or My Recent Documents. You can also create a special folder for files you expect to be working on as a group by right-clicking your Desktop and choosing New Folder. Name it something like "Current Docs" and drag the target files into it before opening them. When the files are later closed they will automatically return to the special folder. You can also create other folders inside your "Current Docs" folder by clicking File>New>Folder, whereupon they can be given names like, say, "Finished" or "In Progress." Netbook Computer with No CD Drive Trent Hamlin wrote that he bought a new "Netbook" computer that has no disc drives and asked how he could install programs that come on a CD. Well, these new, small, lightweight, and inexpensive sub-laptops have been selling like crazy. They are called "Netbooks" because they are designed to be used mainly with "cloud computing" software that is freely available on the Internet. Since nearly everyone has Internet access nowadays, and most users have a high-speed connection, the reasoning is that we no longer need to install software from a CD. Even Microsoft now says they will offer a free online version of MSOffice in 2010. This is in response to free MSOffice-compatible programs already offered online by Google Docs, OpenOffice, and others. As for backing up one's spreadsheets, presentations, and text files, Google Docs lets you do that online for free. Furthermore, external storage equipment, such as hard drives, flash memory devices, and CD drives can be plugged into a Netbook's USB ports. Therein lies the answer to Trent's question. Why Do PCs Have a C Drive, but No A or B Drive? Irving Bauer wrote that he wants to make copies of his personal files, but his computer keeps referring to "A" as the destination drive for backups. Well, back in the 1970s and 1980s computers had A-drives and B-drives, into which were inserted "floppy disks" that bore programs and files. The advent of internal hard drives named "C" eventually made the "A" and "B" units redundant, especially when backups could be made on CDs and on various external storage devices. Irving can ignore his PC's suggestions as to what drive to use and designate whichever one he wants. Jo Ann Warila wrote to ask if there are any free English/Finnish translation programs. Yes, Google Translator is free and works with 42 languages, including Finnish. |