Announcements

Love To Travel?

If so, then you're gonna be as excited about this as I am. We have just received one of the best trip planning software titles available - Rand McNally's Route Planner! (And wait till you see the price - you're not going to believe it!)

First off, you're really going to love how simple this software makes planning your next trip. Just type in your starting point and destination. In a matter of seconds you have a detailed set of directions, complete with driving times and estimated costs! (Psst - the drive time estimates are so accurate it's scary.)

The estimated cost calculator is one of the coolest features I've ever seen with this type of software. Want to know how much it's going to cost in gas to get to your destination? Just tell the software your gas mileage and give it an estimated cost per gallon. In addition to gas costs, it can also figure in meals, hotels, and other expenses. If you tell it your budget, it can even tell if you have enough money for the trip! Incredibly handy!

Oh, and wait till you see the regional and local attractions features (these are soooo cool). Just look up the area you're traveling to and it will show you all the best attractions that location has to offer. Each attraction has excellent (several paragraph) descriptions included - most even include a snapshot of the location!

In fact, I was playing with this feature and in less than 5 minutes I had a couple of awesome day trips planned for my family (one of which we're taking next week)! I can't believe how much cool stuff is within 2 hours of my house - and I never would have found the majority of it without this software! I love this thing - its rescued my otherwise dull summer!

Look at what else this can do:

	Easily find your destinations with a fantastic search feature
	Print your trips and take 'em with you
	Compare different routes easily
	Customize the map so you see only what you're interested in
	Add stopovers along your route
	Audio instructions guide you through the process
	Choose between the quickest route, most scenic, or shortest distance

Your price? Ready for this? Just $9.97 and US shipping is FREE! Told you it was an awesome deal!

When you think of how expensive it can be to travel, isn't it worth a few bucks for a piece of software that can help you make the most of your experience? I think I blew more than $9.97 last year on a couple of hotdogs at an amusement park. Here's the link:

http://www.worldstart.com/store/route-planner-03.htm

PS - Remember, as an added bonus you get an incredibly cool patriotic radio free with your purchase (through July 6, 2003, void where prohibited). Check it out!

Also...

Happy Canada Day!

We also wanted to wish a "Happy Canada Day" to our friends in the Great White North!

Computers 101

Q:
How can I print what appears on the screen completely? Many times it will cut off some of the right side of the material.

A: Many web designers are conscious of the fact that some people will want hard copies of their web pages. For these sites, you can just print in regular "portrait" mode. At other sites, however, part of the text gets chopped off in regular page orientation. Before you print anything it is a good idea to preview the page first. Just go to File / Print Preview.

There you can make sure that everything will print correctly. If you see that part of the page will be cut off, just click the "Page Setup" button (it looks like a page with a gear on it) or use the keyboard shortcut Alt+U.

You can then change your page layout to landscape. Your browser is, after all, in landscape format, so why not go with the flow. Go down to where it says "Orientation" and click the radio button next to "Landscape".

Click OK.

Print Preview will change to show the new layout. Is everything there now? If for some strange reason there is still stuff being cut off, you could go back to Page Setup and change the paper size to legal, then send a nasty email to the webmaster of that site telling them to re-take Web Design 101.

~ David

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

Tip of the Day

Limit System Restore in Windows ME

Last month Kyle told us how to limit the System Restore feature in Windows XP (see July 17, 2003 Computer Tips). He mentioned that Windows ME also had System Restore, but it turns out that the process for adjusting it was different. But have no fear ME users—you too can limit your System Restore.

As you may know, your system automatically makes system restore points. These are backups of your system configurations and windows settings. The restore points can be used to repair your system in the case of a system error. The default settings for the space reserved for these restore points is usually a bit high and can be lowered to reclaim some space.

On your desktop, right-click "My Computer" and go to "Properties" in the drop down box.

When "System Properties" comes up, click on the "Performance" tab.

At the bottom in the Advance Settings box, click on the "File System..." button.

In the File System Properties window you will find the "System Restore disk space" slide bar. Mine was set to over 4000MB! Simply move the bar until you have the amount of memory that you want reserved. I would recommend somewhere around 1000 MB, but a bit less will be fine (some of the restore points can be rather large).

When you have everything set, click "Apply" then OK.

And there you go. You just reclaimed some valuable hard drive space.

~ Stacy Harris

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

The Cable Clock

For those of you out there who don't mind watching time tick away, or are just bored and have a few minutes to kill, check out this super spiffy clock. Also for those of you who loved the floating clock that told you the date and time, you'll love this one too.

The clock has numbers, and a very wiggly second hand that keeps you entertained as the minutes fly by. You're going to want to view this full screen. (on most browsers, just press F11 on your keyboard)

Enjoy this groovy clock.

http://www.andre-michelle.com/studies/cable_clock.htm

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