The DealsGuy For
January 2006
by Bob (The Cheapskate) Click
Greater Orlando Computer Users Group
I can’t emphasize enough
the value of users group help and here is an example: The other day while
preparing to drive over to our beach condo for a couple of days, I wanted to
copy a floppy disk containing some important files not backed up. When I
attempted to copy it, the process stopped in the middle telling me my second
disk was corrupted. I tried to stop the process so I could use another disk, but
couldn’t get the procedure to go away. Even when I killed Windows Explorer, then
restarted it, and was ready with a new disk, it tried unsuccessfully to resume
the process. Finally, I decided to reboot the computer in an effort to clear it,
and when it tried to restart, all I got was the opening Intel screen and nothing
more. After forcing the machine to shut down, and a brief pause, I tried to
start the computer again and it would not go past the startup Intel screen.
Horror set in and I
wondered what I might have done to screw it up, and what to do next. I was lost!
All of a sudden I remembered something I had read only a couple days before in a
users group newsletter while browsing a write-up about their Q & A session. A
member reported that they could not get their computer to boot and finally
removed a USB Flash Drive they had been using before they shut it off. It booted
up just fine with the flash drive removed. Since I was using a USB Flash Drive
while trying a new backup program, I removed it, tried to boot again, and was
very relieved when the computer booted normally. I am running Windows XP
Professional.
I can’t remember which
newsletter I read that in, but my thanks to the user group community and the
newsletters I receive from them. I read them from cover to cover, especially
about their Q & A sessions and sometimes find good information that I think my
readers might use. It was interesting that when I tried rebooting again with a
256 Meg USB Flash Drive plugged in; it booted just fine, but would not boot with
the one gig USB drive plugged in. I would never have thought to remove that
flash drive so I hope my experience was useful to my readers.
*Problems in Dell
Land
I read in Ed
Foster’s Gripe Line about a company that had bought almost 200 Dell Optiplex
GX270 PCs, and when a known defect arose concerning a capacitor on the
motherboard that tended to swell and cause problems, it should have been
covered by their support contract, but Dell didn’t live up to their
agreement. They started to replace them, but after more problem boards were
found, they stopped and instead wanted the company to trade them in. For
financial reasons the customer didn’t want to do that and eventually any
negotiations stopped. It was known that some larger companies with the same
problem had gotten it resolved, but nobody knows why. Up until now, I had
thought Dell had a good name in the industry and I don’t know the outcome.
Ed Foster’s Gripe Line URL is [http://www.gripe2ed.com],
but I couldn’t find this story posted at this writing since I read it in an
August issue. You need to set up a password to access the Gripe Line Web
site. For other information about the problem, check [http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,13709831].
For the folks who
ask me about the trade shows, we recently worked the National Safety Council
Show [http://www.safety2005.org]
that was very interesting. It used about 500,000 square feet of exhibit
space and had over 20,000 attendees from around the globe. You wouldn’t
think so, but I saw some cutting-edge technology featured there. Like many
trade shows here, they had an evening party for attendees at Universal
Studios.
We also worked the
interesting Bank Administration Industry show. [http://www.bai.org]
You would have easily recognized many names exhibiting there, which included
well known ATM machines, security names and software companies like
Microsoft, Adobe, Oracle USA
and many others well known to users group people. The exhibit area was about
400,000 sq. ft. of area. Free food for the attendees too. Attendance was
about 12,000. Central Florida is a
hotbed of trade show activity, but we only work a few of them.
*Still Good
Don’t forget the
deal is still good for the WebBuild Express software for creating your Web
site. To download it at [http://store.esellerate.net/nfti/store],
use the coupon code CPN8348901136, when it calls for it,
to receive your 25% discount. I have a trial version but I have not tried it
out yet. Between health problems and laziness, I don’t have much for you
this month, but I hope you took advantage of the APCUG announcements for
deals.
*The Lost Can Often
Be Found
Have you ever
deleted a file and later found you should not have done that? No problem,
just go to the Recycle Bin and get it back. Come to find out though, it has
been dumped by the Recycle Bin. Now you have another problem; but not if you
have PC Inspector, which can do unbelievable things when it comes to
recovering deleted files from your hard drive. Of course, your hard drive
has to be working properly for it to work.
Best of all, PC
Inspector is Freeware and it can be downloaded at [http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/uK/welcome.htm].
However, if you have used Secure Clean or Wipe Drive, forget about it. I
found this in a newsletter, but have not tried it personally.
*An Announcement For
NeoDownloader (Edited to shorten)
We offer a special.
User group people get a 25% discount on the new version of NeoDownloader by
email request..
September 27, 2005
Neowise Software,
the leading developer of task automation tools, announces the newest major
version of their NeoDownloader. This powerful multithreaded tool for
automatic downloading of pictures, audio and video files now features the
unique Web Spider technology that guarantees a fast and steady download for
both high and low bandwidth. With its improved interface, new image viewer
and media player, NeoDownloader expands the horizons of your web experience
by improving your Internet browsing habits.
Each download job
you trust to NeoDownloader starts with a profile where you can set file
types, size limits, resolution, and scanning depth. The program scans the
site of your interest and picks out only the files that match your profile.
The download is fully automated but you can control it through the download
progress window and fine-tune its performance. The download can run
simultaneously with scanning, or after full scanning of the site is
completed. Downloaded files become instantly available in the image preview
zone of the program window.
The new version
includes a collection of project templates and sample projects to get
started fast. The built-in image viewer and media player provide instant
access to downloaded files. A Drop basket and a set of hotkeys help you to
launch a project from any application. The download library replicates
source sites and organizes files in an easy-to-use way. The password list
secures automatic login to password-protected websites.
NeoDownloader v2.0
Features at the Glance
-
Downloads
pictures, audio and video that match user preferences
-
Filters for file
type, size, resolution and URL keywords
-
Settings for the
scanning depth for internal and external links
-
Up to 10
simultaneous connections
-
Support for
password protected sites
-
New project
profile settings
-
Drop basket
facility to download from other applications
-
Built-in image
viewer featuring slideshow and wallpaper setting support
-
Built-in media
player
NeoDownloader runs
under Windows 98, NT 4.0, Me, 2000, XP platforms and costs $39.95 (USD) for
a single-user license. Free lifetime technical support and minor upgrades
are extended to all registered users. A fully functional evaluation version
is available as a free download at
[http://www.neowise.com/ftp/NeoDownloaderSetup.exe].
Company Website [http://www.neowise.com].
Product page link:
http://www.neowise.com/neodownloader/
Email: [alexey@neowise.com].
Best regards,
Alexey Surkis
CEO of Neowise
Software
That's it for this
month. Meet me here again next month if your editor permits. Be sure to check
the new announcement pages on my Web site. This column is written to make user
group members aware of special offers or freebies I have found or arranged, and
my comments should not be interpreted to encourage, or discourage, the purchase
of any products, no matter how enthused I might sound. Bob (The Cheapskate)
Click [bobclick@mindspring.com].
Visit my Web site at [http://www.dealsguy.com].
|
