o Time for a Break...

o Pam Allen looks at 'Floppies'

o Anonymous FTP

o How's Your e-Shorthand?

o Three-fingered Salute

o AOL & Hotmail eMail Client Changes

o Hot Tip - copying software
________________________________________

TIME FOR A BREAK...
________________________________________

AND talking of breaks the very observant amongst you
will have noticed that this issue is dated Nov/Dec 2002,
rather than November 2002, because I've decided to take
a month's break from producing ezines.

With the Christmas and New Year celebrations just around
the corner I doubt whether many of you will even notice
that Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits is missing from your mailbox
next month. And we can always stay in touch via the
NewbiesAndNitwits.com website.

Of course 'missing' ezines and newsletters are a sore point at
present with online publishers, thanks to the proliferation
of anti-spam software employed by ISP's and others which
arbitrarily filters these items out as junk mail. If some of the
newsletters you subscribe to have been conspicuous by their
absence recently you need to investigate.

Both AOL and Hotmail have recently introduced changes to their
email client which are designed to give mail recipients more control
over the email they actually receive. The last article in this issue
goes into all these details. It has been strategically placed so that
those of you who are not going to be affected won't have to read it.

Apart from that there's plenty to ponder as this issue also deals
with floppies, Anonymous FTP, and things to try out when your PC
goes on the blink.

Versions of the Klez worm are still whizzing about and causing
all sorts of problems. To read an article dealing with this issue surf
to article1046 for a sneak preview. It's such a recent addition that I haven't got around to listing it on any of the site indexes - yet.

Pam and I wish you all a happy and peaceful 2003 wherever you
may be. We look forward to seeing you next year.

____________________________________

FREE TUTORIALS BY AUTORESPONDER

If you are thinking about making your own web page, or
merely want to exercise your brain slightly, then send for
the web page tutorials by clicking web tutorial

Want to find files fast ?- then click files

Organising your computer - click here
____________________________________

POIGNANT PEARLS & POTBELLIED PIGS - a
monthly ezine packed with original and amusing
articles, which will remind you not to take yourself
too seriously. To subscribe click here
Or, if you're wary of pigs in pokes, surf to
SheldeneChant.com to find out more.
_______________________________________________

SOME FACTS ABOUT 'FLOPPIES'
Pam Allen replies
_______________________________________________

(The good news is that more visitors to our
Website are posting queries on the Forum, which
gives us more insight into what our visitors (or
subscribers) would like to learn about. This is
one of the questions which came up this month)

'I RECENTLY read Sheldene's article &, greatly inspired, began trying
out floppies. (First thing I did was make a startup diskette, but I am
fairly sure I don't know how to use it if it ever becomes necessary.)
A small problem I have run into (keep in mind I am dumb) is that
things I download from the Net seem to want to move onto my
hard drive when I try to use them. One such was a small game
which turned out per Ad-aware to be spyware, so I understand
that, sort of. But utilities I can't fathom. If I had wanted them on
the HD I would have DL-ed them there. Am I doing anything
wrong??
'Plus the mechanics--what is the copying process that follows the
download? Is the DL to the HD initially? If so, do I need to do
anything to delete the file from the HD afterwards?'

Pam's reply:

OKAY, here are some floppy facts. A floppy holds only 1.4 MB of
data. At one time, this was a HUGE amount of space. No more.

In this era of bloated software, very few programs are less than
1.4MB, and won't even fit on a floppy. Those that actually would fit
on a floppy usually have to be 'installed' which means they write
entries in the registry, which is optimized for hard drive usage.

Floppies are also fairly unstable. They're not known for longevity,
and I've had some floppies that have lasted barely two weeks
before becoming unreadable. However, floppies do still have some
good uses. I back up my MS Money data file to a floppy
periodically (and also to a location on my hard drive). If the
program crashes, I can restore my data from the hard drive
backup. If the hard drive crashes, I can restore from the floppy.
Text files are also small, and floppies are a good place to store
them if you need to transport them.

Back in the good old days of DOS, utilities ran from the DOS
prompt, and were VERY small, floppies were great for utilities then.
Now, must utilities are integrated with Windows, and won't even fit
on a floppy. Some utilities are small enough to fit on a floppy disk.
Here's how to put them there.

You CAN download it directly onto a floppy. When the download
starts and the window comes up asking where to save the file, you
use the drop down list and pick the A: drive (make sure there's a
floppy already in the drive). However, if it's a zip file, there has to
be enough room left to unzip it. The best choice is to download it
to your hard drive (I have a folder called 'downloads' exclusively to
hold downloaded files in one place), then unzip it and INSTALL it to
the floppy. Most install programs will ask you to specify a location.
Again, just pick the A drive from the 'browse' button.

If you use Winzip to unzip files, it has an 'install' button. You simply
click on the zip file, which opens in Winzip, then pick 'install'. It will
unzip the files to a temporary directory, install it where you
specify, then delete the files from the hard drive. You then
manually delete the original zip file. Another way is to make
another folder called 'unzip'. Unzip your file into that folder, install
it to the A drive, then delete everything in the 'unzip' folder when
you're done.

Hope this makes it a little clearer!

(The article, Becoming a Floppy Fan, which 'sparked' this
query can be read at NewbiesAndNitwits.com. To locate
the article click on the 'Basics' link at the top of
the page.)

COOL PROGRAM OF THE MONTH

Avant browser. It's a front-end for Internet Explorer that uses the
IE engine. It's more than just a 'skin', though! It comes with a
built-in pop-up ad stopper that works wonderfully, and has some
super simple mouse moves to navigate forward and back through
websites. Another super cool feature is its ability to remember
what website you're on if your computer crashes. Start it up again,
and it'll automatically go to that page! Avant has a tabbed
interface, where new windows open in 'tabs' instead of multiple
windows scattered across your task bar. Visit AvantBrowser.com
and get your copy now. It's under 1MB in size, so even dial-up
users can get it quickly!

NIFTY SITE OF THE MONTH

How many times have you wondered about the lyrics to a song?
Or heard a song and wondered what the name was and who sang
it? Well, you can go to this website and type in a few words
from a song. This will search ONLY the music/lyrics google
newsgroup, There's a 99% chance that someone, somewhere
has posted the lyrics, the title, and the artist!
_________________________
Pam is co-webmistress at NewbiesAndNitwits.com
and has another site, QuickDecor.com , which features
speedy and inexpensive decorating ideas.
_________________________

EVERYTHING AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

The new PC and Internet Companion is specifically designed
to be used as ...

A comprehensive in-depth course,

AND

An occasional learning center to be dipped into as time
permits,

AND

The ultimate reference library to refer to whenever you come
across a PC or Internet problem you don't understand.

That's why it's called Companion, because you can have it
on your PC desktop, ready at all times to delve into as
and when you wish. Take a look at this exciting Newbie
Club product here
____________________________________

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
For those who receive this ezine via TOPICA and
NOT from NewbiesAndNitwits.com -
please click on the Topica link which appears in the
footer at the end of each issue should you no
longer wish to receive it. (Of course I hope you
won't do that).
____________________________________

RECOMMEND Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits to a friend!
Simply click here
_____________________________________

NN&N BACK ISSUES
To view all previous issues of Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits
go here

- and don't forget to visit NewbiesAndNitwits.com
often - for stacks of information, to get help from
Pam Allen if you have computer problems, or to read
the most recent issues:-
_________________________________________

ANONYMOUS FTP
by Richard Lowe, Jnr.
_________________________________________

HOW many times have you downloaded a file off the internet? I'll bet
you just clicked a link and the download started automatically. You
probably didn't notice the URL as it flashed across your screen, but
there's a good chance that it was an FTP address.

You know about FTP, don't you? FTP stands for File Transfer
Protocol, and it is a very efficient way to copy files over the internet.
It's far more efficient than the standard HTTP protocol (the way
your browser transfers information). Because of that, you will find
FTP addresses buried in web sites all over the internet.

Most of the time, these are anonymous FTP sites, which means you
do not need a username and password to get the files. You see, you
can set up FTP to require a username and password - this is perhaps
the most common way people get information loaded up to their
web site.

However, if you want you can remove the username and password
requirement to allow anyone to get access to your files. Most of the
time an anonymous FTP site only allows files to be downloaded from
the site: finding one that allows uploads is very rare as this means
anyone can add information at any time.

It's easy to log into an anonymous FTP sites. Sometimes no
username or password is required at all, and sometimes you just
enter 'anonymous' and a password of your email address. Once you
do that using your favorite FTP client (or just Internet Explorer), you
can have a great time looking through what's available.

Why would anyone want to use FTP instead of just loading some
web pages? Besides the fact that FTP is more efficient, it's also very
easy to maintain. An FTP site is structured very much like your
standard file system, with directories (or folders) and files, along
with folder-level security (the ability to require a username and
password on selected folders or directories). That's about all there is
to an FTP site. It's very simple to maintain, relatively secure (as long
as you don't allow people to upload or write) and easy for visitors to
understand.

You will find fully anonymous FTP sites are common in situations
where large numbers of files need to be made available to the
general public. These include support sites which post patched
versions of software, desktop themes and screen savers and
volumes of documentation.

The wealth of information that is available from these sites is huge.
It can be an incredible pleasure to explore the files available on one
of these sites. One of the things that makes them so pleasurable is
no one has gone through any great effort to make a good
presentation (as with a web page). Thus, what you see is raw files
containing information, and not pretty web pages.

Some great anonymous FTP sites and FTP site lists include the
following:

Swedish University Network's, FTP archive
One of the truly great FTP sites. Tons of files freely available for
download.

Archive-name astronomy-ftp-sites
List of FTP sites with information for people interested in astronomy.

Perry's FTP-List Page
List of hundreds (if not thousands) of FTP sites.

Introduction Exhaustive List of FTP Sites
Another list of lots and lots of FTP sites.

(c) Richard Lowe Jr. and Claudia Arevalo-Lowe, 1999-2001
_______________
Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of
Internet Tips And Secrets Visit the
website any time to read over 1,000
complete free articles about how to
improve your internet profits,
enjoyment and knowledge.
__________________________

REGISTRY FOR NEWBIES
So you're not such a Newbie after all? Like to know what
makes Windows act the way it does? Then this ebook will
give you a quick, easy understanding of your PC's Brain. It's
called 'The Registry For Newbies' and you can read all about
it here...
___________________________________

HOW'S YOUR E-SHORTHAND?
____________________________________

OBTW - Oh, by the way
OL - wife, (old lady)
OM - husband, (old man)
OMG - oh my gosh
OIC - oh I see
OT - off topic
OTOH - on the other hand
OTTOMH - off the top of my head
OTF - on the floor

(More email acronyms in the
next issue)
__________________________________

PLEASE RATE THIS EZINE...
Please rate this Ezine at the Cumuli Ezine Finder

Editor’s note: When you click to rate it, make sure you
check the number. It’s automatically set at 5, but you
can go as high as 10. Make sure you change it to the
number you want.
______________________________________

Newbie Club Tutorial
THREE-FINGERED SALUTE
______________________________________

RIGHT now, you can press three keys on your keyboard, and
Windows will prepare to abort itself. Those three keys are
Ctrl, Alt, and Delete. Pressing them is known by geeks and
nerds as 'the three-fingered salute.' Try it. You won't
hurt anything. You can click the Cancel button.

What happens? When you press the three-key combo, the Close
Program dialog box appears. It's a fail-safe. When a program
stops responding, or a your computer seems to freeze, you
can try the salute. However, things may be so far gone that
even this won't help. So the last ditch effort comes into
play. Here it is...

Try the two-fingered salute.

Hold down the Ctrl key. Now, while keeping it depressed,
press the Esc key. Ctrl-Esc. Not 'control minus escape'
(this isn't math!). Ctrl-Esc is just shorthand for 'hold
down the Ctrl key while pressing the Esc key.'

With any luck, the Start menu will open. You'll then be
able to gracefully exit windows without it committing
sudden death on you, requiring a reboot and a run of
Scandisk. (By the way, when you do reboot, and Scandisk
wants to run, you can just press the Enter key and the
process will be skipped.)

Computers think they're smart. They put up messages that you
obey, because you don't know differently. But truly smart
programs always give you options and explanations, letting
you decide what's best.)

(c)2002 Roglan International
____________________
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_____________________________________________

AOL & HOTMAIL EMAIL CLIENT CHANGES
_____________________________________________

BOTH Hotmail and AOL have made changes to their email clients
that will affect all Hotmail users and AOL users who have updated to
version 8.0.

These changes are designed to give recipients more control over
what mail they get, and where they get it. Hopefully this will over
time result in ineffective methods of organising email being phased
out - particularly ISP-controlled filter methods which frequently make
the wrong choices on behalf of users.

In order to assist AOL and Hotmail users, Topica, who hosts this
ezine, has made these recommendations:

'For subscribers using AOL 8.0, the best place for email to land is in
the 'People I Know' folder. For Hotmail, primary placement is
achieved when email gets to the inbox even when the setting is
'Exclusive.' We suggest you send a message to all AOL and Hotmail
users that they put your list name (nerdsandnitwits@topica.com) or
the domain topica.com, in their 'Address Book' for AOL and in their
'Safe List' for Hotmail. This will ensure that your messages are
always seen directly in the inbox, even if they use the most
restrictive folder for AOL (People I Know) or filter for Hotmail
(Exclusive). While Topica works with AOL and Hotmail to make sure
the email gets through, only the recipients' action can guarantee
placement.

'In addition, list publishers using AOL and Hotmail will also want to
add the list names to their address books or safe list, and we
recommend that any of you on multiple lists go the route of adding
the name of the domain itself (topica.com).'

Now, for more information on each client:

AOL 8.0
Mail being sent to users of the new service can now be viewed using
one of four folders (see below). Please note: AOL is not yet making
distinctions between which mail should go into 'bulk senders' and
which into 'unknown sender.'

* 'Everyone' (default) - All mail sent to an AOL user is delivered into
this folder, which is the default viewing option when you open your
version 8.0 inbox.

* 'People I Know' - Mail filtered into to this mailbox is only from
addresses stored in the subscriber's AOL Address Book or on a
Buddy List.

* 'Bulk Senders' - AOL was not filtering any mail into this folder at
the time of writing , but eventually it will contain 'mail from
commercial mailers who have committed to honor AOL's stringent
e-mail policies. This category may include newsletters, order
confirmations, or other opt-in mailings.' Topica is a white listed
organization with AOL and the Topica Exchange mail for subscribers
that haven’t put a list name, or the Topica name, into their address
book will eventually go into this folder.

* 'Unknown Senders' - Mail filtered into this mailbox is mail that is
not from either 'People I Know' or 'Bulk Senders.' Currently, mail
that's not 'known' is going here. AOL is letting its users know that:
'As you use the AOL service and add more people to your Address
Book or Buddy List, the number of messages you receive from
unknown senders should diminish and are more likely to be junk
mail.'

Additional Tools: * 'Add Address': AOL 8.0 Users can press this
button as they read an email to automatically place the mail into the
inbox.

* 'Report as Spam': This button can be used to 'report as spam'
any mail. The use of this button will help AOL determine whether to
place lists into 'bulk sender' and 'unknown sender' in the future.

HOTMAIL
Hotmail users can now decide between three different settings for
viewing their mail: * Default * Enhanced * Exclusive

Hotmail is using filtering technology to keep obvious spam from
getting to any customer's inbox. Topica reports they have worked
with Microsoft to make sure that all Topica mail is delivered. How
and where the email is seen once delivered, however, is in the
subscriber's hands.

If subscribers select the Default setting, Topica mail will be delivered
to Hotmail subscribers' inboxes. Most Topica mail, especially Topica
Exchange mail and other Topica mail that is 'confirmed opt- in' will
also be seen when a viewer is in the Enhanced setting. When the
user has the 'Exclusive' setting on, all that will be seen is email from
senders who are on the subscriber's safe list.

Hotmail subscribers are advised to add individual list addresses to
their Hotmail safe list. In addition by putting the topica.com domain
in a safe list this will ensure all mail from Topica discussion groups
and newsletters is seen regardless of the setting used.

* -------------------HOT TIP------------------- *
IF have a TWAIN-scanner and a printer attached to your PC you
can, with the free Copying Machine version 1.24
(www.meusesoft.com) make a copy of any document,
save the images to disc so you can make copies later, choose to
copy only part of a page, and align an image so it is centred when
printed.

* --------------------HOT TIP------------------- *

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     --------------------- Signature File----------------------

                  Editor/Publisher: Sheldene Chant
                   6 Strapp Lane, Amanzimtoti 4126,
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________________________________________