Announcements

Ever Need To Fix Your PC?

Yup, we've all been there. You run into a PC problem and wish you had someone to help you fix it. Well, we can't give you your own personal PC tech, but we do have some software that's almost as good!

We have a program called Fix PC Problems and it makes taking care of PC snags easier than ever!

This program has 101 different problems - and their solutions. Just run the CD, double-click the technique or tip you need, and you'll get a multi-media answer! That's right, this program includes audio / video presentations to show you have to do each technique. It's like having a teacher right there next to you.

What will it help you fix and maintain? Tons of stuff (click here for a larger list) - Hard drive installation, keyboard problems, fixing a floppy drive, stopping junk mail, clearing your IE history, using scan disk, using defrag, error messages, uninstalling, creating a start up disk, making boot up faster, saving electricity, shutting down fast, open programs automatically, setting IRQ's, installing drivers, zipping / unzipping, adjusting taskbar, and tons more!

OK, I know what you're thinking. If this program is on CD, then what good does it do you if you need to have your computer powered off in order to do a repair or upgrade? Ahh, they cover that by giving you a book with a printed step by step procedure for each and every topic on the CD! So, you can watch it first, and should you need to power down your computer, just cross reference the tip in the book. Cool huh?

Overall, this program makes taking care of PC problems much easier. Having step by step examples explained to you is just awesome. Everything is completely explained and the procedures are very easy to follow.

The retail price on this is $39.95, but you get it for only $16.97 and US shipping is FREE! Note that the examples in this program cover win 95, 98, and ME - however, much of it still applies to XP. Here's the link for more info:

http://www.worldstart.com/store/fix-pc-problems.htm

Think about it, if it saves you just one trip to the repair shop, it's more than paid for itself. Besides, this is a fantastic way to learn the ins and outs of your PC. Don't hate yourself for missing out, get to the link above now!

Computers 101

Image File Guide

Check it out on the web... http://www.worldstart.com/guides/imagefile.htm

I get questions about image formats all the time, so if you don't know your JPEG's from your GIF's, this is for you. First, a little background on file compression.

There are basically two ways of saving images, lossy or lossless (no, I didn't make those up). If an image is saved in a lossy image format, it means the format being used discards some of the "unimportant" image information. However, the resulting image file is smaller. Lossless retains ALL the image information.

OK, now that you know that, here's a overview of the most common image formats.

JPEG - By far one of the most common image formats. It's primarily used for photographs. It is a lossy type of format, but most people can't really see the difference. You can adjust the amount of compression when saving a JPEG image, so you do have some control over the final output quality. JPEG's are extremely popular since they compress into a small file size and retain excellent image quality.

Keep in mind that the more you compress a JPEG, the more "pixely" it will tend to look. For the best results, save your JPEG's at the "medium" or "high" setting (your imaging software should bring up this option when you go to save as a JPEG). I really can't see any image degradation in most pictures saved at the medium setting.

GIF - Another popular format, especially on the web. It's a lossless format that's ideal for graphics. GIF's can be either static or animated. If you've ever seen a graphic on a web page that was animated, you've seen one of these animated GIF's Hit your Refresh button and check out the WorldStart logo at the top to see an animated GIF (it only runs the animation once).

Most of the time GIF's are used for non-photographic type images (buttons, borders, stuff like that).

BMP- This is the standard Windows image format. It's lossless and works well for pictures or graphics. It's an uncompressed file format, so it takes up lots of disk space. It's also the standard format for Windows wallpaper.

TIFF- My favorite. It's a lossless format that can use file compression (called LZW compression). It won't result in as small a file as a JPEG (which is why it's not used on the web), but you do retain all image quality. When compressed, the file is usually about half the size of the original file.

I normally save photos I'm archiving in this format. I can then convert them to other formats for screen savers, wallpaper, or web images.

-- Steve

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

Tip of the Day

Outlook Express Groups

Do you constantly send e-mails to the same bunch of people? Do you get tired of going through your address book and hunting and pecking for each address and adding them the send to box?

I don’t know about you but I find myself sending stuff to the same people every day. Instead of doing this every time, create a group in Outlook Express. Then, instead of 10 or 20 names to sort through, you have one.

Open your address book and click on New and then select New Group.

In the window that appears, type the name you want to call this group in the Group Name box (note: the recipients will see this name, so don't be offensive). I was extremely creative and named mine “My Group.” Then simply add any names from your address book by clicking the Select Members button or you can add new addresses by clicking New Contact.

Now, when you want to send group e-mails, you have one entry in your address book for your entire group. You can add or remove names as often as you wish by using the Select Members or Remove buttons, too. You can also create as many groups as you like (one for co-workers, one for family, one for friends, etc.).

-- Dena Albright, Winston Salem, NC

Have a tip for the newsletter? Submit it below:
http://www.worldstart.com/writers-guidelines/index.htm

Amanda's Cool Site of the Day

Copy Kat

This is a great recipe site – especially if you like to eat out and want to copy your favorite restaurant foods at home. What kind of recipes can you look forward to? How about some from Boston Market, Olive Garden, and many more?

Well you can find them here. The really neat thing is you can find your recipe by category. Want an appetizer? Choose appetizer, click go, and *poof* appetizers from your favorite restaurants. You can also search by alphabetical order or do a search with keywords. Happy eating!

http://www.copykat.com/asp/recipes.asp

Do you have a cool, non-commercial site that you want to share?
Send it to Amanda at amanda@worldstart.com