Announcements

Buy any program from us, get Myst ($49.95 retail value) for FREE!

Yes, it's back! Buy ANY piece of software from our online store this week (March 25-31st, 2002) and we'll toss in Myst for FREE!!.

In case you didn't know, Myst is the best selling PC game of all time - and rightfully so. I remember when I first played it - I couldn't get enough! Over 5 MILLION other people have enjoyed this game as well!

Here's a description:

You are about to be drawn into an amazing alternative reality. The entire game was designed from the ground up to draw you in with little or no extraneous distractions on the screen to interfere with the feeling of being there. Myst is not linear, it's not flat, it's not shallow. This is the most depth, detail and reality you've ever experienced in a game.

Myst is real. And like real life, you don't die every five minutes. In fact you probably won't die at all. There are no dead-ends, you may hit a wall, but there is always a way over or around. Pay attention to detail and collect information, because those are the pieces of the puzzle that you will use to uncover the secrets of Myst. The puzzles you encounter will be solved with logic and information - information garnered either from Myst or from life itself. The key to Myst is to lose yourself in this fantastic virtual exploration, and act and react as if you were really there.

Again, all you have to do is make a purchase from our online store this week (March 25-31st, 2002) and we'll give you the game for FREE! It's a heck of a deal! So, here's the link to our online store. Happy shopping :-)

http://www.worldstart.com/store/index.htm

Oh, check out our new titles:
http://www.worldstart.com/store/newtitles.htm

And bargain bin (all titles in this area are $3.97-$7.97 and US shipping is still FREE!)
http://www.worldstart.com/store/bargainbin.htm

Computers 101

Q:
Is the government going to start charging a five cent tax on every e-mail we send out?

A:
NO!

I've been getting lots of people forwarding around this old hoax again. So, if you get something in your inbox that says the government is considering bill 602P to place a 5 cent tax on e-mail, inform the sender that it's a hoax (and please don't send it to me :-)

Which brings me to my point. Just because something comes in your e-mail doesn't automatically make it true (well, unless it's from me of course ;-). Before you forward it to everyone in your address book, do five minutes of research.

For example, when I first saw this e-mail tax deal over a year ago I was understandably worried. However, before I sent out a copy of the e-mail to thousands of people, I went to a search engine and typed in the bill number, 602P.

In less than a minute, I discovered it was nothing but a hoax. There is no bill 602P.

Also, just FYI, Disney and Bill gates aren't giving away free vacations, there are no little girls dying of cancer who get a dollar for everyone you forward their message to, and, no, you aren't going to have a terrible accident if you stop forwarding chain letters. (Just so you know, it's impossible to track forwarded e-mail, so when you see something that claims to do it, it's automatically a hoax.)

Oh, and while you're at it, don't delete files from your computer because a forwarded e-mail says they contain viruses (the Sulfnbk.exe hoax is going around yet again). Check it out first!

Finally, please don't forward these type of e-mails "Just in case it's true". Sending stuff like this around is the equivalent of having an internet "kick me" sign hanging off your back.

Check out the Cool Site of the Day for more.

(Whew, I feel much better :-)

Have a question for the newsletter? Submit it at the link below:
http://www.worldstart.com/submitquestion.htm

Tip of the Day

E-mail Etiquette

Web link - http://www.worldstart.com/guides/emailetiquette.htm

Since I'm on an e-mail rampage today, I thought I would pass on some e-mail tips:

1. PLEASE DON'T TYPE IN ALL CAPS. IT'S HARD TO READ AND IS THE EQUIVALENT TO SHOUTING. I know, some of you think it's easier to read, but I don't make the rules, I'm just tellin' ya about them.

2. use punctuation its hard to read stuff that doesnt have any commas capital letters periods or apostrophes

3. Usee yur spall chacker. Its annyang to try to reede constent spalling misstakes.

4. When forwarding an e-mail to someone, copy and paste what you want to send into a new e-mail, then send it off. This is especially true if you had to dig through tons of "layers" to actually get to the message of the e-mail.

5. Avoid embedding sounds and "stationary" in your messages. You may think they're "cute" but they take longer to download and can be annoying to your recipient. Additionally, when your recipient responds to your e-mail, they may have to re-format their text (especially color) in order for it to be readable.

6. Re-read your e-mail message before you send it out. I don't know how many times I thought I had everything just right then found something that was way out of place when I re-read the document. Hey, sometimes I miss stuff even after I re-read (and re-read again :-).

7. Finally, don't use short hand. Stuff like "r u going to stp by ltr" can be hard to read. Don't be lazy, type the whole word.

Well, I guess that's about it. I know that I occasionally have an e-mail transgression (I think we all do), but maybe these guidelines will help everyone communicate a little better.

Have a tip for the newsletter? Submit it below:
http://www.worldstart.com/submitatip.htm

Cool Site of the Day

Urban Legends

If you do get something in your e-mail that you're not sure about, check it out with the site below. They have a search engine that will help you quickly determine what's real and what's not. Additionally, it's a cool site to browse through.

http://www.urbanlegends.com/

Do you have a cool site that you want to share? Send it to Steve! Here's the address:

steve@worldstart.com

Oh, and we're looking for non-commercial sites. We generally don't run sites that are strictly for shopping.