NOISES FROM
THE BASEMENT
Not unproven to enhance physical stamina, here’s:
==============================================
This Week’s Contents --
1) Peeking thru WINDOWS – “Free Memory”
2) Fantastic File Find! – “Mini-Avalanche”
3) Seen These Sites? – “Dead Chicken Walking/Where’s George?”
4) Email Funnies – “Here, Kitty Kitty”
5) The MOUS Hole – “Night of the Comment”
6) They Said It – quotes to give one pause
7) Hodgepodge – “Parasites”
Hello to all the new subscribers! Welcome
back, Faithful Readers!
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1) Peeking thru WINDOWS “Free Memory”
RAM, Random Access Memory, could be the single most
important factor in the complex mix that determines the
pleasure of your computing experience.
Too little RAM, or
inefficient use of the RAM you have, will eventually show
up in performance problems. Over the
next several weeks,
we’ll look at some tricks you can use to optimize the memory
in your favorite computer.
The first tip is right under your nose, on the Desktop. On
computers with less than 20 MB of RAM, take a look at
your wallpaper. If your wallpaper is a
full-screen bitmap
(picture) and the computer has 20 MB or less installed
memory, replacing the wallpaper with a solid color or
pattern bitmap, or no bitmap at all, will free up some
performance enhancing RAM.
2) Fantastic Free Featured File!
“Mini-Avalanche” [46 Kb/EXE]
This week finds an emergency substitution for the
Featured File (see Hodgepodge), but I think it makes a
fine sub – Mini Avalanche is one of those tiny little games
that will drive you wacky! Downloads in
seconds.
http://www.basementnoises.com/free4u/miniaval.exe
3) Seen These Sites? “Dead Chicken
Walking/Where’s George?”
So, what are YOU doing this weekend?
Want to have a really
good time? Then pack up the kiddies,
jump in the car, and
get on out to
Chicken Days” festival, May 19th and 20th.
Click below
to find out more about “A True Story Of One Bird's Will
To Live” - Mike, the chicken who lived 18 months sans noggin!
http://www.miketheheadlesschicken.org/
Ever wonder where that money in your pocket has been?
(as a parent of teenagers, I know where it’s going...)
Now, once again showing the awesome power of the Internet,
you can participate in tracking your (U.S.) paper bills,
wherever they’ve been, wherever they may go...
http://www.wheresgeorge.com/
4) Email Funnies - “Kitty” [241 Kb/EXE]
This week, a bit more ordinary resident for your Desktop -
Felix the Cat. I’ve found Felix to be a
politer resident than
those Sheep and
goldfish bowl)!
http://www.BasementNoises.com/free4u/kitty.exe
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * *
You always hear about the people who do wrong, hurt
others, take advantage, rob and steal. But they are the
minority. HeroicStories are about everyday real people
who step up to the challenge and help others when
they're needed. Worth your time.
http://heroicstories.com
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
5) The MOUS Hole “Night of the Comment,
Part I”
Ever found yourself in the middle of a Word or Excel
document, when you reach for a piece of paper and pen
“to make a note” about what you’re working on?
Found in both Word and Excel, Comments are the “Note-Its”
of Office products. Use the Comments
feature to jot remarks
in a document, without changing the document’s content.
Comments can be for yourself or for others in your workgroup,
and can be visible or not, printed or not.
This week, inserting comments in –
WORD -
=======
I) Position your insertion point
anywhere in document,
but usually near the idea you are
“commenting”
II) Choose Insert, then Comment
III) Type your Comment in the Comment pane at bottom of
screen; or if you have a microphone
attached to your
computer, click the “Insert Sound
Object” icon and
record your comment!
IV) Click the Close icon to complete the comment entry.
EXCEL -
=======
I) Select the cell you want to Comment.
II) Chose Insert, then Comment
III) Type your Comment in the Comment box that appears
next to the selected cell.
IV) Click outside your comment box to complete.
NEXT WEEK: Editing & Printing Comments
6) They Said It -
”We didn’t starve, but we didn’t eat chicken unless we
were sick, or the chicken was”. Bernard
Malamud
7) Hodgepodge – “Parasites”
The following copy was ready to go for this week’s
Featured File, and was lacking only a final “proof”
before sending it out. I have been using
the described software for over 4 months, and this
WAS a wholehearted recommendation. And
then,
something happened...
(note: actual file name changed, for reasons which
will be made apparent):
The copy read:
If you download files from the Internet, you should be using
this program! After you install
Go!Xilla, it will sit in the
background, quietly waiting for you to click on a file to d/l.
Then it roars into action! Go!Xilla
will:
* find the fastest download site, worldwide!
* schedule downloads for a later time (like while you
are asleep!)
* allow you to resume broken downloads (like when
someone picks up the phone!)
----end copy
All nice features, right? I thought so;
it really has made
my life easier. Then, for reasons I’m
still not sure why,
I decided to do just a bit more research – and what I found
shocked and disgusted me – enough to take immediate
action to remove this product from my computer!
NEXT WEEK: What’s so bad about GoXilla, and how to
get rid of it if you have it?
Be sure to visit the web site this week for Find the Black Spot
and read about LA schools solving “the district's most
pressing problem”-
with restroom attendants!
http://www.BasementNoises.com
==============================================
I’d like to know what you think. How can
NFTB better serve
you? Care to comment? Send your questions, comments,
and requests to: feedback@BasementNoises.com
==============================================
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