Terry's Computer Tips - Newsletter
May 6, 2007
Terry's Computer Tips Newsletter
http://www.terryscomputertips.com
A computer tips newsletter for users of PC's.
Volume 2, Number 47 — Sunday, May 6, 2007
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
IN THIS WEEK'S ON-LINE ISSUE:
1. DVD Player Stopped Working
2. Updates Last Week
3. Firefox Customizations
4. My Favorite Firefox Add-On's (Firefox Extensions)
5. Font-size Problems in Windows
6. My Computer Security Software Recommendations
7. Feedback from Readers
8. Recommend my Terry's Computer Tips Newsletter to Your Friends
Welcome to the on-line edition of my Terry's Computer Tips newsletter.
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1. DVD Player Stopped Working
Subscriber Jan wrote to ask me about a problem she was having and a possible soluion:
Terry, the DVD player on my Dell computer which was purchased in Nov. 2005 has stopped working. There was a link in your newsletter called Registry Fix which mentioned Dell DVD players not working. Is this a good website to try for a problem like this? Do DVD players just wear out over time (less than 2 yrs)? I do not use it often. Thanks. Jan
I wrote back to tell Jan:
I'm not familiar with Registry Fix. You probably saw a Google Adsense ad -- Google matches their ad "inventory" to my content and displays their PPC (Pay-Per-Click) ads on my site.
My choice for registry repair is XP Repair Pro -- http://tinyurl.com/2wgfrg
However, I don't think it would help you at all with this problem. I'd be EXTREMELY surprised if any Windows registry problem caused your DVD to stop working.
I think you're right on the second idea -- I consider CD and DVD players and writers to be disposables. They're cheap to replace and frequently die. Assuming your Dell is a desktop, you'll find that the DVD unit is easily removed and replaced.
Fortunately, at $30-$60 for a DVD player (or even a DVD burner!), they aren't priced too badly. I went through a couple HP CD burners in the early days at $400 and $250 (same model, 8 months later). Needless to say, when two of those burned out when Adaptec EZ CD Creator crashed while burning, I threw that program out.
I consider CD burners, DVD burners, video cassette recorders, and stand-alone DVD players to be throw-away devices. They've all come way down in price. The cost of repairs is prohibitive. And, I've seen too many of them die to consider them to be anything more than disposable.
2. Updates Last Week
Microsoft (operating systems, email, web browser, office suites):
Microsoft releases almost all updates once per month, on the second Tuesday. I saw none this week.
Firefox (web browser, http://www.mozilla.com, free):
Versions 2.0.0.3 and 1.5.0.11 were released on March 20, 2007. Their support for v1.5.x was expected to end in late April. However, the Mozilla Foundation relented just a little bit and will continue supporting Firefox 1.5.x until mid-May, 2007. That's this month! Now's the time to upgrade to Firefox v2. Firefox is free.
Opera (web browser, http://www.opera.com, free):
Version 9.20 was released on April 11th. This release of a recommended security upgrade, in addition to having several new features.
Netscape (web browser, http://browser.netscape.com, free):
Version 8.1.3 was released during he week of April 1. Quoting the web site:
What's new in this version? Security fixes
SeaMonkey (web browser, email, HTML editor, newsreader; http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey; free): Version 1.1.1 and version 1.0.8 were released on February 28, 2007. These are security update and stability releases.
Eudora (email, http://www.eudora.com):
No update last week. Version 7.1.0.9 was released October 11, 2006. Eudora is now free, with no ads and no "paid mode" option.
If you were running "Sponsored Mode" in a version before 7.1.0.9, it's probably too late now for an easy update. Sponsored mode in the earlier versions expired on March 31st — and reverted to the less-functional "Lite" mode. Fortunately, Eudora is very nicely designed. You can install a new version in a new directory and then copy the data files from the old version to the new.
Mozilla Thunderbird (email, http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird, free):
New Version!Thunderbird version 2.0.0.0 was released during the week of April 15th. Quoting the web site: "Mozilla’s Thunderbird 2 email application is more powerful than ever. It’s now even easier to organize, secure and customize your mail."
OpenOffice (office suite — spreadsheet, word processor, presentations, graphics, web design; http://www.openoffice.org; free):
Version 2.2 was released on March 29th.
From the OpenOffice.org web site:
OpenOffice.org 2.2 is an important new release and all should download it, as it resolves security issues and includes significant enhancements. These are both general and specific. A full list of the new features and fixes is given in our release notes, but among them:
- Enhanced text display throughout
- Better support for Pivot Tables in Calc
- Several key improvements in Base
- A more robust Mac version for X11
- ... And many more
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Volume 2, Number 47 — Sunday, May 6, 2007
Copyright © 2007 Terry A. Stockdale. All rights reserved.
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