igotout

The weak link on that system is the integrated sound, video and speakers. But it may be just fine for most users. Even integrated components have come a long way. Try to find out what brand of mouse and what kind of keyboard they are using and even what kind of motherboard they are using. You gotta make sure you have easy access to USB 2 plugs and it is also nice to have a firewire plug as well. If not, you can get a USB2 / Firewire expansion PCI card. Speaking of which, is there room to add a card or two in case you need to? For example, lets say your integrated video or sound went bad or you decided you wanted something better. Do you have the capability on that motherboard to install an AGP card or a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 to take over? The other weak link is that is only a 15' monitor! That is very tiny by todays standards. 19" is standard these days. I prefer 21" and larger. Keep in mind, that monitor will not look quite as good as a larger and cheaper CRT monitor. And Flat ones can be damaged easier than the glass ones. Kids can ruin them. (But you can't beat the space saving and coolness features of the flat ones.)You might want to see if you can actually go somewhere to see the monitor quality before buying. Maybe at one of those Gateway Country stores. I am puzzled by your choice. Why not this instead Gateway 510G Gaming PC for around $1,000

Valerie, I do want to see Hoover Dam. We only flew over it last year but I want to see it up close. Why don't you use this link on your website for the 7th Corps list. It is easier to read than the one you have linked. 7th Corps list Who is doing the site for you?

I'll go kayaking. Never tried that. Sounds like fun. Count me in, just not for 12 hours. Bungee only takes an hour. You should try it. It will make you very alert. :D-->

I was sold on ATI as well but am back to Nvidia. I was shocked to learn that ATI does not support horizontal spanning across dual monitors. No one can understand why they fall behind in that. Furthermore no window transparency features in ATI software. Nvidia kicks their butts on features. No more ATI for me.... at least for now. Problem with flat panels is their cost. Have you priced a 21" flat compared to a 21" CRT? Triple the cost or more isn't it? For something that is not as good really. But soon I believe the flats will catch up on quality. Then I intend to have dual or triple 21" flats depending on graphics cards offerings at the time. I mean, who would NOT enjoy their coolness and smallness factor if you can afford it. THe BEST cordless mice and keyboards are just now getting to the place where they are as responsive as corded ones for gaming. If gaming is not in your future then sure.... go cordless. Makes sense. Just be sure to keep a corded mouse and keyboard around in case you have trouble. They can be funny when it comes to troubleshooting ot allowing you to go into BIOS, etc. Nothing worse than booting up only to have no action on your mouse or keyboard. Happens with cordless, never happens with corded devices. I like external USB2 or firewire devices where possible. For example, I just got Sony's new DVD / CD burner, the external mode. That way I can take it where I want and use it on other computers. And when it is not in use, it is not inside the hardware configuration of my computer as internal devices are. Therefore one less thing that could conflict or go wrong. It does it all, so I do not even need a cd or DVD burner present in my computer anymore. I just plug it in only when needed. How often do you burn CD's or DVD's anyway? Depends on the person I guess or the lifestyle. Laptops probably good to have an internal DVD so you can watch movies while traveling. I just built a computer recently and it was not all it was cracked up to be. It was hard work and I did not save that much. Next one (soon) I am just going to pay the price of someone else's labor. I have my eye on this awesome machine. You should see it in dark lighting! Click here: Crystal Clear lighted machine

Dell is good. Lots of selections. Get at least a 3.0 processor, get a 128 MB graphics card. Stick with Nvidia brand graphics. Get at least 512MB RAM. CRT monitors are much cheaper (and better) than the cool flat ones. So unless you need more space, get the big kind but get a good one. Get no less than a 19". I prefer 21". Make sure it has the aperture grill technology. Don't get Dell's crappy speakers. Just order it with none. Then go out and get some from Best Buy. Get some good ones that will surround you with sound. I don't wanna hear all the excuses for buying crappy speakers! :D--> Get at least a 12OGB hard drive. (Again, no excuses.) Does not have to be SATA but it does not really matter. Once you get your Dell, uninstall all the unnecesary software and other junk they put in there. Don't install old games on a modern computer or you are asking for trouble. Go out and buy or "download" the latest versions of the games you like. Just my opinions. John R.

You got PC Anywhere I got PC Anywhere It's a date. All I need is your IP address, that is unless you are behind a router that is not configured to accept PC anywhere. Just post your IP address here. NO! DO NOT DO THAT! Just kidding. Call me. Evenings or weekends good. Later.

Though it sounds inviting, I am not sure about a 12 hour ordeal, Simaptico. My vision is more along the lines of sipping a few cold ones in a sunny area somewhere and chatting with some old friends I have not seen for 20+ years. Playing that much "catch up" might take the entire weekend. :)--> But I do want to bungee jump again and see those awesome fountains at Bellagio some night. John Richeson

And use a router for best firewall protection. It is built in. Why install Zone Alarm software all throughout the system or enable XP's firewall or the invasive Norton Internet security when the hardware itself will do the job? GRC will surely report stealth on all ports immediately after you hook up your router. And they couldn' be easier to set up. Sudo, why not use broadband? It is a bargain these days. If you are on the Internet you should have a firewall. XP is more secure than 98 IMHO. But a common mistake that is made among XP users is they go on the Internet with full administrative rights. Not a good idea. Better to make yourself a user or Power user. Use the Administrator account only when you need to.

Goey, I have also heard of situations that a virus can be on a computer even after the hard drive was formatted and new OS was installed. Apparently formatting may not get rid of some viruses completely. There is a way to do a virus scan by starting up the computer with the Norton Antivirus CD in the tray. It does a full scan on boot up even if an OS is not installed. I think in some cases a virus can be in the BIOS as well. One friend installed a new hard drive cuz he was so infected. He got a virus again even before he connected up to the Internet! It was not on his CD either. Some BIOS's now have virus protection built into them but not older ones.

Here is our 7th Corps graduation list. You can thank Jill, one of my secretaries for all this hard work, copying it from a typewritten list we all had. I hope there is a good turnout. But even if not, it will be a lot of fun. I mean, it's Vegas, after all. Why didn't they have the Rock there each year instead of in the cornfields of Ohio? 7th Corps list

:D-->

I forgot all my greek words, Tom. Doesn't petros mean "far superior to me"?

I had this this list of our graduating Corp typed and put on Word and in HTML if anybody wants a copy. It looks like Fran Glicka was the only smart one of the group based on her GPA. Click here: 7th Corps Website It brings back memories to see all those names. I often wonder how everyone has been doing for the last 25 years. I have lived here in the same area since we graduated in 1979.

Ha! I wish, Tuttle! "Get thee hence" and thou mind outta the gutter. Unfortunately this was just dumb set up crew for Xmas with Dr. & Mrs. You see, even the set up crew had to "dress their best. Ha!" We weren't an item though I loved her accent and all those other foreigners' accents too. We American boys trapped in residence were "easily persuaded." Tricia was ..... really into "the program" best I could tell.

Tricia B, 9th Corps and some dork. 1979 Ha!

Excathedra say that three times with the accent of Sylvester the Cat and you will feel even much better. Hope, go back to work! Do you like my picture of beer at the Florida State Fair? Lauren & Rosie took it. Ha!

Yeah, nice field. Legends Field, they call it. Steinbrenner developed it to be a miniature "clone" of Yankee Stadium. I got his autograph recently. He was in a tiny restaurant that our workers go to all the time, kind of a dive. He goes there for lunch. It's near Legends Field. Nice guy. Very philanthropic.

Zixar may be on the right track with OE Express but maybe it is the other way around which is what I think he means. To expand on his solution, in Outlook Express go to Tools / Options Then click the tab called Security. There is an option that says " Do not allow attachments to be saved or OPENED that could potentially be a virus." Microsoft added this in desperation when they were getting slammed for being weak on virus protection a while back. But I believe it caused more problems than it solved as your post may indicate. Is this "feature" checked on your computer? If it is, then uncheck it and Apply that change and your problem may be solved. But make sure you have virus protection that scans your incoming email to see if those attachemts contain a virus. I recommend Norton Antivirus 2003 or 2004. Let us know what happens, OK?

Thanks, Apple a day, That (SpywareBlaster) sounds like an excellent program. I downloaded it and will try it out this weekend. But with the few measures I have already taken (installing thousands of know spyware sites into my restricted sites) I never seem to ever get any spyware anymore. But I am always open to new ideas. Microsoft..... yeah, next version will have tabbed browsing and other enhancements, already been announced. And of course it was their own original ideas ...ha! (not) Question: What can a company do that has almost $60 billion in cash aside from being one of the worlds largest companies? Answer: Anything they want to do. Ha! John R. PS - Speaking of mail clients, Microsofts Outlook 2003 is getting rave reviews. I just switched from using OE Express (which is no longer being supported) to the full blown Outlook and so far I am impressed. Last time I tried Outlook was 97 and it sucked. Now it is much better. But I am also using an add on called Spam Bayes that is an awesome spam blocking tool that only works with Outlook not OE Express. I think this free add on uses that learning Bayesian (sp) technology that Zixar was talking about a few months back. Awesome! Damn spam!

I have no probs with IE but then again I kinda like MSFT as a company. But other browsers / OS's may be better for sure. Less used, less prone. Good suggestion, alfakat. But they are not perfect either from what I hear.

This is unrelated but Zixar you reminded me of another setting that sometimes helps a computer start up much faster. What do you think? Worked well for me in a few situations. Ok, lemme see... Run / GPEDIT.MSC Computer Configuration / Windows Settings Security Settings / Local Policies / Security Options (Whew!) Disable the key that says: "System Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile" Sometimes it can take a long time to clear the page file. In some cases it can even hang. Why not disable it? Does one really need that much security? John R

As I said on another thread, I belive Spyware is becoming more crippling to computers than viruses. Wow! All this just from the small cirlce of people we know here. Imagine what is happening all across America. I have found a way to eliminate Spyware completely and have also learned how to recognize those pieces of crap. They all ought to be sued. But it ain't happening. Just use the two biggies, Spybot or AdAware. Run them regularly. Scan for viruses regularly. DO NOT respond to pop ups at all. Do not click on them to close them. Sometimes when you click the little x to close them it is a trick to install something on your computer. You might need to close the pop up some other way. (Not always, depends on the pop up). Use a blocker such as Google task bar. DO NOT install anything from the internet that pops up and says you need it. (There are a few exceptions...very few.) Go to start / run MSCONFIG and look at each and every individual item in there and find out what they are for. Each of these items are starting up every time you run your computer. Go here: Startup list Uncheck the ones that you absolutely do not need. Get a free program called Spy Sites. Download it and install the thousands of known Spy websites directly into your restricted sites in your browser. This little program will do it for you. Also be sure to add their "worst offenders" list. Then you can not even go to a known spy site if you want to. But I am sure those pieces of xhit companies will not give up. So you have to stay dilligent in doing some of these things. For example, Gator is changing its name to Claria now. Ha! John R. PS - Careful going into the registry. Do that as a last resort. May not be necessary. PSs - Do not allow children to have access to the Internet. Only thing I know is to not allow it at all unless you are there with them. Want proof? Go into google and type in some things and see how easy it is for them to be exposed to stuff that could cause them harm. You might be shocked. There are other solutions but it is a lengthy discussion. [This message was edited by igotout on February 13, 2004 at 13:59.]

Well, for sure uncheck it Excathedra. It may also be just the left over remnants of a virus. Because I am sure you have scanned your computer for viruses haven't you? Yet here is somethnig that is virus related. Like my friend who had something called blaster.exe in his startup. I swear he did not have a virus. It was probably caught and deleted by Norton. Yet he had this trace of a virus left over trying its best to do its thing. Reminds me of that Monty Python Holy Grail movie where that guy had his legs and arms chopped off but was still challenging the guy. Funny movie. Anyway,14 things in startup seems like a lot. Keep posting them here. There may be others that you can /should get rid of. Though I am no expert I would also recommend unchecking the second one too. Nvidia can be invasive but so is ATI. They have gotten beter but they still fight for you allegience. Make that stupid task bar thing go away forever. Uncheck it. Won't hurt anything. I always like to go to Nvidia's site and get their latest Detonater drivers too. They make it very easy to install. They are always making things better in their latest driver releases. Your card is a good one. ,ight as well keep it running the best. But first things first. Lets help you got rid of any messages that pop up. None should. John R.

I decided to go on a diet, Excathedra. Do you think I'll get the desired reuslts?

I bet Zixar is on the right track. I read something somewhere about the amount of time for Network shares to connect also,Pawtucket. It was some article about making the shares able to connect instantly without delay. But I believe the context was in light of faster startup time, etc. Couple other things to at least be aware of. Overheating can cause funny things to happen. If it happens again you can check to see if it only happens after you have been on for a while. Processors are a lot cooler at first. One time I opened a computer only to find that my fan had quit working on the graphics card. Also be sure to check Event Viewer. It might give clues. If I know you, Paw, you will already have this resolved by now. Stay warm! John R. PS - I gotta show you that 2003 Server machine I was working on. I finally finished it and am using it daily. There is good and bad. But mostly good. I'll take a few digitals. Thanks for your help with it.