Announcements

Got A Digital Video Camera?

Then don't miss this!

We have an awesome program called Video CD Maker that you're gonna love. It takes your digital camcorder recordings and lets you put them onto video CDs that can be played on most DVD players (or another computer). Rather than sending off a digital tape that no one can play, or dubbing to VHS, you can simply create a Video CD and mail it to friends and family!

Of course, there's a lot more to the program than that. It also includes powerful editing software that really lets you customize your movie. You can edit out the bad stuff (like when you forgot to turn off the camcorder and recorded a 10 minute stroll at the zoo), put different clips together, add special effects, add transitions, add titles, and even overlay a clip with your own music!

Once you've perfected your production, you simply save it and burn to a standard CD-R disk. That's it! You have a video you can pop into a DVD player or computer.

In addition to video editing and recording, it also includes some other cool applications. It has a Digital Video Recorder, an MPEG encoder, a Photo Editor, Digital Album, and even a Video Security program that can watch over your place when you're away. For more info, head to the site - the page is has a ton of info and even some screen shots!

OK, now the price. The retail on this is $59.95, we found it at Amazon for $37.65. Your price from us? $14.97 and US shipping is FREE! This is a current title and one heck of a deal. Wanna get yours? Head to our site right now!

http://www.worldstart.com/store/video-cd-maker.htm

PS - This was an overstock type deal, so we only have a limited quantity at this price. After these are gone, the price will jump to $34.95. Get in while you can!

Computers 101

Q:
My new computer doesn't have a floppy drive and my old one doesn't have a CD burner. Is there any other way to transfer files?

A:
If both computers have network cards, you could create a simple network, allowing you to use your old computer as an extra hard drive. You can bring up files as needed with your new system and leave them on the old— this saves you memory space on the new system. You'll probably figure out that you hardly access any of those old files anyway!

If you don't have a clue about how to set up a network, we still have a few copies of Professor Teaches Home & Small Office Networking in stock.
http://www.worldstart.com/store/professor-networking.htm

This next suggestion was sent in by a reader: send files as email attachments from the old computer, then recieve the email with your new computer. Save the attachments to your desktop, then file them away where you need them. Thanks for the idea Marge. Make sure that the files aren't too big and that you have a fast connection, otherwise you could be sitting around for a while, or your ISP might even block it.

Lastly, if your new computer has Windows XP, you can just connect the computers together with a serial cable using an open COM port, then run the "File and Settings Transfer Wizard".

One way or another, you should be able to get your files moved over.

~ David

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

Tip of the Day

Old Data Recovery

Do you have old disks laying around with important stuff on them?

In many cases, the info on the disk(s) seems like it's inaccessible with newer machines. Maybe the software that created it is no longer in existence, or it's just an odd ball format.

So, is there any way to transfer your files from old floppies to your new machine?

Well, maybe.

The first thing I try with an old, unknown file format is to open it with Notepad (assuming it's a document and not a picture or something). You'd be surprised how often that little trick works.

If that doesn't work, sometimes MS Word or Corel WordPerfect may have the ability to open the file.

Note that with both of the above document opening tricks, you'll need to select "All files" from the File of type drop box on the Open screen. If you don't, you probably won't be able to access the file you're trying to open at all.

If the file is a database, this can be harder. Your best bet, believe it or not, may be a spreadsheet program like Excel (or some similar program).

You see, most older (and many newer) databases are in a basic text separated format (the values between fields are separated by commas, spaces or tabs with one record per line). Excel and most other spreadsheet programs can handle these types of files with ease. Again, you'll need to select "All files" from the Open screen's Files of type drop box in order to try this.

Of course, if you have a good database program, it may be able to open the file for you. MS Access can open just about any database file, if you're lucky enough to have access to Access.

Note that if you are successful in getting your file to open, you will probably have to "clean" it up a bit before it's useful again (sometimes the formatting is not quite what it should be). Once it's set though, be sure to re-save it in a current format :-)

Finally, if all else fails, you may need to figure out exactly what type of program you'll need to find in order to open the file. Check out this site for a little help in that dept: http://filext.com/

~ Steve

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

All the World’s Maps

Need a map for a report? Need a map of a country for your vacation? This is the place to get your maps. How does it work? Choose a map from the drop down box and then click the Launch Map button and ta-da you have a directory of sites to choose your map from.

Better yet you can even get maps of specific cities within that country. There are tons of maps on this site, and it’s very well organized. Go grab yourself a map and enjoy!

http://www.embassyworld.com/maps/maps.html

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