Terry's Computer Tips - Newsletter
September 3, 2006
Terry's Computer Tips Newsletter
http://www.terryscomputertips.com
A computer tips newsletter for users of PC's.
Volume 2, Number 12 — Sunday, September 3, 2006
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
IN THIS WEEK'S ON-LINE ISSUE:
1. Inexpensive and Free Dialup Internet Service Providers
2. Updates Last Week
3. Selecting a Notebook Mouse
4. Back-to-School: Turn Off File & Printer Sharing
5. Wireless Networking Difficulties
6. My Computer Security Software Recommendations
7. Quieting Windows' Noises (and selecting other sounds)
8. Recommend my Terry's Computer Tips Newsletter to Your Friends
Welcome to the on-line version of my Terry's Computer Tips newsletter.
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I got some Exciting news from Sunbelt Software. Their antispyware product CounterSpy won Computer Shopper magazine's Best Buy award for antispyware this month. Not only that, but they're having a Labor Day sale to make it an even better deal!
The Labor Day sale runs from September 1 to September 4 (Friday to Monday). Use the coupon code LABORDAY06 to get $5 off the regular price of $19.95. The coupon can also be used to get $5 off your order if you buy a multi-computer license for CounterSpy.
CounterSpy is my choice for anti-spyware for my family's computers and mine. It is also my #1 recommendation for anti-spyware.
Sunbelt's other news is that their Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall (my personal choice and my #1 firewall recommendation) just won the Windows IT Pro magazine Readers' Choice Award for Best Desktop Firewall!
1. Inexpensive and Free Dialup Internet Service Providers
With AOL stepping back from the dialup market in the US, what's left?
In most areas, there are local phone companies and other local companies offering dialup services. You might be interested in them for multiple reasons, including supporting your local businesses. Some even have arrangements to use the large dialup networks that the large ISP's use, too.
One local ISP in my area seems intent on raising its dialup prices until they drive off their customers. Strangely, it's the same phone company that sells DSL service to most of Baton Rouge, so they aren't endearing themselves to their potential DSL clients. Bellsouth obviously has some really bright marketing people, or some really clueless ones, since they think this will work...
I started a Bellsouth dialup account a few years ago after I had my cable ISP account. Since the cable ISP offered me no ability for backup dialup service (they do now, but the last time I looked, the pricing was still exhorbitant). My Bellsouth limited dialup account, which gave me something like 10 hours per month, was $4.95 per month. Then, $5.95, $7.95, $9.95 and was up to $11.95 per month when I said "Good Bye, Bellsouth!"
What triggered me to write this article? A friend recently asked for help to find another dialup ISP, since Bellsouth had raised his charge to $18 per month.
Today's dialup ISP market is much more friendly and price-competitive. Companies like NetZero and PeoplePC offer unlimited dialup service for about $10 per month.
NetZero even goes one better than that. I've written about this before, but it's worth repeating. NetZero offers a free 10-hour-per-month dialup internet access, including email and webmail. Obviously this can't be totally free; the trade-off is that you allow them to display ads while you're using it.
I've got one of these NetZero Free accounts. It's great as a backup if my cable Internet service is out. It's also a good choice for times when I'm travelling.
NetZero Platinum is their paid service, which gives you "unlimited Internet access" without their ad banners. NetZero is offering this $9.95/month service for $6.95/month for the first year, with a 12-month commitment. They also offer a second premium service called NetZero 3-G, which includes their 3-G acceleration, a popup blocker, more email storage (2GB instead of 1GB), and Norton Antivirus Online. They also offer NetZero Platinum without an annual commitment for $9.95 per month.
Another national service with a pretty good reputation is PeoplePC. Their PeoplePC Unlimited serivce is $5.47/month for the first 3 month, then $10.95 per month after than. They also offer "PeoplePC Accelerated" and "PeoplePC Security Plus" packages.
So, we've got three good choices in the $10 price range: NetZero Free, NetZero and PeoplePC.
If you're paying $25 per month to AOL, it's time to check out the alternatives. You can even keep your AOL email address.
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2. Updates Last Week
Microsoft (operating systems, email, web browser, office suites):
Mcrosoft releases almost all updates once per month, on the second Tuesday. The next Patch Tuesday will be September 12th.
Firefox (web browser, http://www.mozilla.com, free):
no releases this week. Firefox v1.5.0.6 was released on August 2nd.
Opera (web browser, http://www.opera.com, free):
No new release of Opera last week. Version 9.01 was released on August 2, 2006.
Netscape (web browser, http://browser.netscape.com, free):
No update last week. Current version 8.1.
Big change, though, for Netscape email users. When you got www.netscape.com, you're welcomed with a link. Quoting the web site FAQ:
What is happening to NetscapeŽ Mail?
In order to provide you with the best free webmail service, Netscape Mail is being upgraded to the more robust AIMŽ Mail service*. The transition will take place August 25th. Your e-mail address and login process will remain the same. The look and feel of the service will change slightly, but all the features and functionality you have today will continue.
http://about.aol.com/faq/netscapemail
SeaMonkey (web browser, email, HTML editor, newsreader; http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey; free): New update last week. Version 1.0.4 was released on August 2 and includes stability and several security fixes.
Eudora (email, http://www.eudora.com, options: paid, sponsored or free/lite):
No update last week. Current version 7.0.1.0, released 12/21/05.
Mozilla Thunderbird (email, http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird, free):
Thunderbird version 1.5.0.5 was released July 27th.
OpenOffice (office suite — spreadsheet, word processor, presentations, graphics, web design; http://www.openoffice.org; free):
Version 2.03 was released during late June.
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Learn about Hiking, Credit Cards, Travel Insurance, Travel Tips
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Volume 2, Number 12 — Sunday, September 3, 2006
Copyright © 2006 Terry A. Stockdale. All rights reserved.
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