Announcements

Jaw Droppin' Anti-Virus & Firewall Special!

Guess what?! 

We have the latest version of the McAfee Anti-virus & Firewall bundle in stock! And it's better than ever! We've had a lot of our McAfee fans asking about this one lately, so here ya go!

Your price? Normally we sell it for $18.97. Since this retails for $59.95 that's a really good deal. However, between now and Sunday (04-20-03) you're price is only 14.97! Is that incredible or what? That's 75% off retail!

Now, why would you want it? Well, first off it's easy to use. The whole program is put together in a sort of wizard interface. You pick a task, then you get a screen with options. You pick an option, and so on until you get done what you want done. It's very intuitive and I was extremely impressed with how simple it was to use. And we all want easy to use, right?

As for features, the anti-virus program does a fantastic job. It takes care of over 60,000 different viruses including e-mail attachments, Internet downloads, shared disks, CD-ROMs, and synchronization with your PDA. McAfee VirusScan software also detects destructive ActiveX and Java applets, which are often downloaded without your knowledge while you browse.

Of course, it automatically updates itself while you're online so your virus definitions are kept up to date without you having to remember to do it. It also has an uncanny knack for monitoring suspicious activity. For example, I sent an e-mail twice, and it stopped the process and checked with me to make sure I was the one doing the sending (since viruses will do that too).

So, it not only stops current viruses, but also can keep a pro-active eye out for suspicious activity that could be caused by a yet-to-be-reported virus. Nice huh?

As for the Firewall component, that's fantastic too. It's really easy to setup and use. Remember, a firewall is used to keep hackers out of your computer and your anti-virus software will NOT be able to stop them. You need a firewall.

Time and time again I hear about computers getting hacked into. Information is compromised, files deleted, and in some cases the whole system needs to be re-installed. Almost without exception, the hacker problems are worse than the virus problems. We even have a lady working here who had hacker problems (we got her a firewall and she's fine now).

One of the best uses for this firewall (aside from keeping hackers at bay) is its ability to monitor and inform you about programs that are trying to access the internet.

For example, if you have a piece of spyware sending your information to someone, your firewall will detect this, notify you of it, and let you stop it. Or, if you have a virus that's trying to send e-mail using it's own SMTP server, your firewall will catch it in the act and protect your friends and contacts.

Again, the firewall that comes with this program is very easy to configure and extremely easy to understand. I really like the way it's designed.

Whew, that's about it. Be sure to head to the site and take a look at this incredible value. For $14.97 you can keep your computer safe from both viruses and hackers! Here's the info link:

http://www.worldstart.com/store/mcafee-7.0.htm

PS - Don't miss out on this deal. Anti-virus and firewall software is something everyone needs on their computer and this combines power and ease of use in a way few others can. Plus, the price is fantastic!

Computers 101

Q:
Help! Sometimes I get links in my e-mail that are split into two lines. Usually, the first line is clickable, but it takes me nowhere. I’ve tried to copy and paste the entire thing, but only the top part of the link gets pasted. What can I do?

A:
Don’t you just hate those split links? Here’s how to handle ‘em:

1. Copy and Paste the first part of the link into your web browser’s address bar.

2. Now, go back to your e-mail and Copy the second part of the address.

3. Paste the second part right next to the first part and be sure to delete any extra spaces should they get between part one and two of the link.

4. Hit Enter and you’re whisked off to the page.

Nope, it isn’t the prettiest thing you’ve ever done, but it will get you to the web page you need :-)

~ Steve

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

Tip of the Day

Embedded Fonts: Keep Your Documents Looking Good!

We constantly hear about news reporters "embedded" in the military to cover the war, well, how about a font embedded in your Word doc?

There is an ancient Chinese proverb that says, “He who creates a beautiful Word document is wise, but he who enables others to see that beautiful Word document is wiser still."

Okay, it’s not really an ancient proverb. But it is true!

”Have you’ve ever found a cool font on the web and used it in a document? Chances are if you sent the document to somebody else, your cool font didn’t show up the same on their computer. Word will substitute missing fonts with whatever it deems the closest match – and Word is not always very good at finding close matches.

So wouldn’t it be great if you could just include the font with the document?

(Okay, this is a tips column. You know where I’m going with this.)

HOW TO DO IT

Embedding fonts in your documents is a simple process. From the Tools menu, select Options to bring up the Options dialog box.

Click the Save tab and click the box on the option Embed TrueType fonts.

You also have the option of embedding just the characters that are in use in your document. This is useful if you are using a very complex or flowery font and wish to keep the file size down. If you’ve used a special font for a headline or title, Word will save just the information it needs to reproduce only those characters used in the document.

However, if you embed only the characters in use, and then the person who gets the file wants to correct a spelling mistake or make some other change to that title, they are limited to only the letters you have already used. So it’s a trade-off between file-size and convenience. And since this whole thing is about convenience, I’d recommend going with the whole font. The choice, as always, is yours.

WHAT ABOUT MY MAC-USING FRIEND?

“Dear Tips Column, I have this friend who uses a Macintosh…”

Wait, he uses a Mac, and you’re still friends with him?

No, ha ha, I use Macs sometimes, too. But when you send Word documents to a Mac, even if you’ve embedded the fonts, they won’t show up properly unless the receiver has the Mac equivalents of those same fonts installed. Only other Windows users will be able to see your font-embedded document in all its glory.

But then, Windows users make up something like 95 percent of the world, so it’s okay.

THE FINAL WORD

This is mostly my personal opinion, but as a writer and designer, I have one suggestion for the world: Please, refrain from using Arial or Times New Roman for anything you’re going to print. Both of those fonts were specially designed to look good on a computer monitor – not on paper. There’s a whole world of subtlety in fonts that just cannot be expressed in the 72 dots per inch of a monitor.

Use something like Verdana, Georgia, or anything with the word ‘book’ in it. Print them out, and compare them with the overused Arial and Times New Roman.

Try it! You’ll impress your boss! Amaze your friends! Win the love and admiration of complete strangers! Well, you’ll at least produce more professional-looking documents.

~ Tom Dalton

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

Amanda's Cool Site of the Day

Lord of the Peeps

Lord of the Rings fan, here is some peeping good fun for you. And all you Peep lovers out there will get a kick out of this site where Peeps re-enact the classic "Lord of the Rings." This site is hilarious. You can watch the movie, see the images, read the cast interviews with Bunny Boyd who plays Pippin, and Sean Peepstin who plays Samwise Gamgee.

Is that all? No, of course not, you can also download wallpaper, AOL icons, reviews, and previews. Enjoy Lord of the Peep on a computer screen in your home today!

http://www.lordofthepeeps.com/

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