Costly medicine The cost of dealing with computer viruses and worms, and the threat to the public infrastructure, seems finally to have stirred the forces of law and order -- or at least, the FBI.
Schofield column
Guardian Online


Can't reach a Web site? If you use NTL broadband, it may be a cache problem. AV spam: bouncing SoBig e-mails is not useful. Finding the Ask Jack archive, and the propblem of stopping "windows messenger service" pop-ups revisited. Backchat on Thunderbird and sites that tell you your IP address.
Ask Jack

Yahoo gets into blogging -- but only in South Korea. Privacy and Human Rights: read the sixth annual survey. Pop Idol games and ringtones. Freenet founder gets into search with WhittleBit. The BBC's online courses and styleguide are helpful -- and there are other free styleguides. Getting a free trial print from Canon. Understanding American Pie moves to a new address. Six of the best 9/11 sites.
Web watch


Buying a portable PC
Start here

Not just beige boxes....
Schofield column
Guardian Online

Start here: Buying a PC
Guardian Online

How to get into Google
Ask Jack

(No links because the Guardian's Web site is down....)

Licence to 'drive' a computer? You don't need one but maybe you should: users who don't know what they are doing can be a danger to others on the Internet. Having said that, Microsoft could improve things by delivering its systems with security defaults etc turned on instead of off.
Schofield column
Guardian Online

Google now includes a rather wonderful calculator function. Brainboost is another attempt at putting natural language processing on the front of a search function. Collect Britain, from the British Library, has started to put documents online in an entertaining form. An online music competition for piano, oboe, violin and trumpet players, to begin with. European blogging site 20six has moved to a new platform. Gamers can now vote in the C&VG Golden Joystick awards. Tiscali Entertainment has started streaming short films. Plus: Six of the best sites for students.
Web watch

Getting better search facilities in Microsoft Windows XP. Can you keep e-mail addresses away from mass-mailing viruses? You don't need to download the Java version of the Opera browser, unless you need Java for other purposes. Proxyconn caching, and better software for iPod users with Windows.
Ask Jack

Let's go Nutch... Some of the net's self-appointed guardians have launched a project to develop an open source search engine. Apparently there's a fear that Google is or could become too powerful. In fact, it faces tough competition from Yahoo, Microsoft and others.
Schofield column
Guardian Online


The Blaster worm, uploading files to a PC from an iPod, spam, and accessing secure Web pages.
Ask Jack

How to beat Blaster
A step-by-step guide to removing the MS Blast worm from your PC.
Guardian Unlimited

New strain, old refrain
The latest version of the SoBig virus may be the precursor to something far more destructive.
Guardian Unlimited

Challenge-response systems could beat spam. They are a terrible idea, but at the moment, it doesn't look as though there is going to be a viable alternative....
Schofield column
Computer Weekly

Should Linux users pay a licence? What we now call Linux started as a project to clone Unix, through GNU (Gnu's Not Unix). If you wanted to guarantee a non-infringing version, it should have been done as a "clean room" implementation -- but the open development methodology made that impossible.
Schofield column
Guardian Online

The problem of "copy protected" audio CDs, and what to do about them. You can't have Gator without GAIN (Gator Advertiser Information Network). Putting a pinboard online, and a simple UK accounting program for a sole trader. Backchat: old printer cartridges can help the British Red Cross.
Ask Jack

Are most commercial websites designed by children? It does look that way, given the number of sites that put a "cool" appearance above usability, accessibility and functionality.
Schofield column
Guardian Online


Home page hi-jackers and other parasites are now running rampant in the Windows/Internet Explorer world. However, there are some free programs you can use to clean up your PC, and some utilities that try to prevent scumware from being installed. The lottery scam: how you can lose $1,500-$3,000. Plus: how to stop spam.
Ask Jack

Schofield's First Law of Computing Standardisation and ubiquity mean that buying PC-based systems is virtually risk-free, but this does not mean that computers are no longer a threat to your financial health. There is still a huge risk involved in the part of the system that is the most expensive to create and the hardest to replace: your data.
Schofield column
Guardian Online

Advertising on eBay and someone wants to send you too much money in a form that is supposed to be as good as cash? Yes, it is still a scam. How to get the right keyboard set in Windows. Removing temporary files: it's safer if you do a "staged delete". Backchat: disposing of CDs, alternative browsers, software to change files that are marked as read-only, and software for blogging.
Ask Jack

Formula One 2003, the official Formula One game for the PlayStation 2.
Gameswatch

Beware "migmaf", a new Trojan that could make it look as though your Windows PC is distributing spam, or worse.
Guardian Online

Decorators with keyboards I would love to see a few web designers thrown in jail for designing unusable and inaccessible sites. Not much chance of that, but the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) is backing a number of individuals in taking legal action against various as yet unnamed websites that they say do not comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
Schofield column
Guardian Online

Black and Asian history sites. Internet shopping day. The Schools Web Directory UK reckons it has found all the state secondary schools with Web sites. Building a database of US government employees. A multimedia visit to the Burarra Gathering of indigenous people in northern Australia. Six of the best: Tour de France.
Web watch

What is the best way to destory a CD? Where would you start blogging? Teporary files left around by Microsoft Word. Can you lock a window in Internet Explorer? (If you can, please tell me how!) Backchat: that XP password, software that will click the mouse for you, and changing file attributes from DOS.
Ask Jack

Browser wars 2.0 Netscape has just released the last version of its eight-year-old web browser to not much acclaim. AOL, which owns Netscape, won't use it and has signed up with Microsoft again -- and last year, AOL also laid off almost all of Netscape's browser programmers. But Firebird and Thunderbird -- the next browser and standalone mail client being developed as open source by the Mozilla project -- are starting to look pretty cool, and you can try them now.
Schofield column
Guardian Online

Peter Leckie wants to keep people out of his notebook PC running Windows, while Alan Fletcher has been locked out by Windows XP and wants to get back in. Backchat: Sente has a free program that will change all those read-only files (copied from CD) to read-write format, while SDP from the Streaming Download Project to record Microsoft streaming formats.
Ask Jack

Can Michael Dell keep it up? The company has grown from less than $1bn in sales to $35bn in a decade, and now it plans to target consumers and the digital home.
Schofield column
Guardian Online

America's Do Not Call registry is a huge success. Learn online writing, free, at trAce in Nottingham. Get Usenet newsgroups tracked, with email alerts. The Knockoff Project -- fun with album covers. Karl Marx was an immigrant. Google launches Toolbar 2. Barbie doll collectors and the ones Mattel hasn't produced -- Latex Fetish Barbie, Dominatrix Barbie, Neo-Nazi Barbie etc. Six of the best: Katharine Hepburn.
Web watch

Email for kids -- preferably without the porn spam. Is it worth dividing up a Windows XP hard drive? Those 419 West African scams -- if we all replied, would it slow them down? Backchat: readers suggest free or cheap Web space; Messer -- another program for recording Web audio.
Ask Jack

Why has Sun spent the past six years bashing Microsoft when everybody knows which companies are going to eat its business for breakfast: Intel-based hardware suppliers such as Dell, and Linux suppliers such as Red Hat and SuSE.
Schofield column
Computer Weekly

Spambusters Time to get tough on spam -- and that means action at all levels, from changes in software to changes in legislation.
Guardian Online

IT Matters The Harvard Business Review has stirred up a bit of controversy by claiming it doesn't, but it's not to be taken too seriously....
Schofield column
Guardian Online

Broadband choice -- Ethernet or USB? Changes you don't want -- correcting an AutoCorrect entry in Microsoft Word. The search for free Web space. Backchat: recording Internet radio broadcasts, and another free firewall to try.
Ask Jack

Tracked and tested -- Wal-Mart pushes RFID tags, and it could well have to power to prompt widespread adoption, as it did with bar codes.
Guardian Online

It's in our hands Handheld computers may not be as popular as they used to be as consumer devices, but they still have a lot of potential in the corporate market.
Schofield column
Guardian Online

The Tour de France -- it's time to start picking your team. Re Jesus -- the Bible in txt format, and other bits of fun. Technorati brings home the bloggers. Web Demographic. Pets with pages on the White House site. "Most unwanted Americans" -- the latest deck of cards. Six on the best: Blockbuster films.
Web watch

A firewall can reveal that you are running software you don't know about, and may prefer to do without. Capturing Internet radio broadcasts. Backchat: extending that phone line using the mains, and more on The Proxomitron.
Ask Jack

Palm rescues Handspring ... and gets into the phone business with the Treo Communicator.
Guardian Online

Microsoft is providing a sort of "server stability" by delivering things late, but it is delivering performance and it now has a master plan to create an integrated server system.
Schofield column
Guardian Online

The CD that shattered; connecting a PC wirelessly... without Wi-Fi; Windows Messenger Service pop-up ads revisited; blocking ads and other things with The Proxomitron; livable solutions to the overheating laptop problem; clicking OK when you are not there.
Ask Jack

Munich picks Linux. Judge Jackson thought Linux was a joke but Munich plans to install it on about 14,000 desktops. Brave? Not really. It's following a lead given by the German government, and it will have the backing of the world's biggest computer company, IBM.
Guardian Online
Schofield column


The Webby Awards, and World Environment Day. The portal for people with impaired vision, and the Connexion for troubled teens. Who remembers you? This site could help find out. Broad Brother -- the high-speed version of Channel 4's Big Brother. Geek tests: which Matrix character are you, and other quizzes.
Web watch

Hot Tosh: The Satellite that shuts down after half an hour. There may be a tilde (~) file on your Windows desktop -- here's why. The CD-ROM drive stops reading the disc -- try giving it a clean. Removing browser hijackers, including i-lookup. Backchat: more on Polish caracters (but it helps if you read Polish).
Ask Jack

Blogging software is going to become an important business tool. You should be playing with it now, to learn what it can do.
Schofield column
Computer Weekly

Why we need stupid networks
Guardian Online
Schofield column

All aboard the ARKive, a site for endangered species.
Web watch

The Fizzer virus, driving Windows using MouseKeys, and other problems
Ask Jack

Thursday, May 15, 2003

The Silver Surfer of the Year Award heralds a new push to get the over 50s online.
Guardian Online

Social software -- is it the next big thing, or something we've had for decades? It was certainly the hot topic at the recent O'Reilly Emerging Technologies conference, highlighted by a terrific keynote from Clay Shirky.
Guardian Online

When computer companies collide: it's a year since Hewlett-Packard took over Compaq to create a computer giant. Computer industry mergers are usually a bad idea, but this one seems to be going better than most.
Guardian Online
Schofield column

Art after Levi's. DNA revisited -- the Linux Pauling story. Where did that band name come from? May weeks: time to celebrate National Breastfeeding Awareness Week and National Vegetarian Week, among others. Six of the best: Revision sites.
Web watch

Why doesn't a "40GB" drive hold 40GB of data? How much space is Windows taking up? And how much is a second-hand PC worth?
Ask Jack

Thursday, May 1, 2003

Drive to put in a good word -- Brewster Kahle thinks big. In a world where most people can't back up their own hard drive, he started keeping an archive of the internet, and created the Wayback Machine. His latest project is even bigger: to provide universal access to all human knowledge. Putting about a million books (soon!) in the back of a van is just the start.
Guardian Online

Molecular machines -- Eric Drexler, who coined the term nanotechnology, spoke at the O'Reilly Emerging Technologies conference in Santa Clara, California, last week.
Guardian Online
Schofield column

You can copy a Web site to CD, but is it legal to send it to a school in Kenya? Blocking those Messenger service pop-up ads in Windows XP. Getting files off the desktop. Software to synchronise a PC with an external hard drive for back-up purposes.
Ask Jack

You don't have to be clever to crack the computer security of most British companies: all you have to do is stand on Waterloo station handing out cheap pens.
Guardian Online
Schofield column

Sproqit seems to have solved the problem that afflicts almost every serious business user: how do you get access to your Microsoft Outlook data when you are not at your PC?
Guardian Online

Not everyone is interested in the Internet, including 42% of Americans, according to a new study. The Penis Blog. Toolbars for search engines. Online Etch A Sketch. Six of the best: soccer sites
Web watch

How many dead pixels are acceptable on an LCD screen? Putting MS Publisher files on the Web.
Ask Jack

Japanese computer companies (Toshiba, Sony, NEC) are becoming major players while American ones (Packard Bell, Apple, Gateway) are in retreat. The move to notebook PCs and mobile devices plays to the Japanese strengths, so the focus of the industry is shifting towards Japan.....
Computer Weekly

Something old, something new : The last one.
Schofield on Saturday
Guardian Unlimited

Thursday, April 17, 2003

The spreadsheet was the "killer app" for personal computers in business, and it could be killing them.
Guardian Online
Schofield column

Wi-Fi for the Wary. Wireless networking has been a huge success, but it would still be a good idea to think carefully before upgrading from 802.11b -- today's standard -- to 802.11a or 11g.
Guardian Online
Schofield column

The Webby Award nominations have been unveiled, so now you can vote. Where to find information about Sars. The BBC's search for Great Books. Optimus Prime goes to war. Terminator 3: the trailer is now online -- and so is the trailer for the next Lara Croft movie. PowerPoint Hamlet wins award. Six of the best: War news
Web watch

One way to make sure you don't overwrite your original file in Microsoft Word when you use it to create a new one. A macro program to save keystrokes. What does 403 mean (accessing Al Jazeera)? Psynchronising a Psion handheld with Novell GroupWise. The wholly bogus printer driver message. Backchat: how to fry a chip.
Ask Jack

Beware of first movers How do new technologies enter the market, achieve success, and become widely adopted? It doesn't happen overnight. The Technology Adoption Model is a popular way to describe how new technologies are absorbed -- and it has a lot of implications for IT markets.
Schofield on Saturday
Guardian Unlimited

Thursday, April 3, 2003

Home truths: businesses are falling behind, and most professionals have better computers at home than they do in the office....
Guardian Online
Schofield column

Beware: hoax emails are not coming from Microsoft, but it is easy to check. Putting word processed files on the Web -- software can help, if you have a lot of them. The problem with touchpads on notebook computers, and processors generating heat. Alternatives to Outlook Express. Backchat: another way to remove the games from Windows 2000 and XP.
Ask Jack

Lock-ins that aren't any fun Did you pay too little for your mobile phone? Why are games consoles sold at a loss? And isn't it strange that cheap printers don't cost much more than their ink cartridges? These are all examples of price manipulation that rely on at least some vertical integration and some degree of lock-in. Of course, the companies that provide "good deals" on the initial purchase have to make their money back, and more, on running costs -- mobile phone charges, printer cartridges, games or whatever.
Schofield on Saturday
Guardian Unlimited

Thursday, March 27, 2003

Adam Osborne, who has died aged 64, launched the first successful portable computer, the Osborne 1, though actually it was a mains-powered luggable machine. He also created Osborne Publishing (which continues as part of McGraw-Hill) and launched Paperback Software.
Obituary: Adam Osborne
The Guardian

A look at the Dell Axim X5, Hewlett-Packard iPaq H1910, and Palm-based Sony Clié NZ-90, which includes a 2-megapixel (1600 x 1200 resolution) camera.
Guardian Online: What's new: PDAs

Dealing with Lop, NewDotNet and other PC parasites. Ports on the internet. Removing the games from recent versions of Windows. Backchat: we're still seeking a replacement for MyBBC.
Ask Jack

The search for standards In the computer industry, everybody believes in standards -- especially if they own one. Users depend on them. But where do they come from? Obviously there isn't a single answer....
Schofield on Saturday
Guardian Unlimited

Thursday, March 20, 2003

The Oscars, and places to vote for the nominees you want to win. The tale of the Raging Cow: the blogging world is being used to promote sugared, flavoured milk drinks. Tara Calishain's Google Hacks book is out now. Wanted: nominations for the UK's Silver Surfer of the Year. Nick Crowe's Axis of Evil ring tones. ZeFrank plays with names (and anything else you type in).
Guardian Online: Web watch

Getting rid of those unwanted porn pictures -- and removing other personal information if you plan to sell an old PC. Converting Web pages into plain text. Looking for a UK-oriented personalised news service. An unofficial site where you can find out which services you can stop in Windows NT and XP. Regret upgrading a program? There's an Oldversion.com Web site where you can sometimes get that old version back. Backchat: making MP3s. Ping with Mac OS 9.
Ask Jack

Battle of the browsers When the computer industry was vertically integrated, it exploited "lock in", which discouraged users from defecting to alternative systems. Today's interdependent suppliers are more likely to talk about "buy in" as a way of sustaining thier platforms. In the browser wars, Microsoft used "buy in" to support Internet Explorer and defeat Netscape Navigator.
Schofield on Saturday
Guardian Unlimited

Intel launches Centrino -- a new Mobile Pentium chip set that includes Wi-Fi (802.11b) wireless capabilities and delivers much better battery life.
Guardian Online

Which format for music to go, MP3 or WMA? Installing Wi-Fi -- it may be too soon to go for the faster 802.11g version. Is your mail being sent? BCC: copies to yourself and you can check. When the net slows or stops, use ping and trace route to find the hold-up. Backchat -- readers recommend software photo albums that preserve and use EXIF data.
Ask Jack

Portable PCs based on Intel's Centrino chip set should have a much greater appeal in the business market because time is money and purchases should be able to demonstrate a clear return on investment. Whether it is worth making the much bigger step to Centrino-based Tablet PCs is another matter, though Intel and Microsoft will be glad to trouser your money if you do.
Computer Weekly

Monday, March 10, 2003

Obituary: Roger Needham, former head of Cambridge University's Computer Lab, and founder of Microsoft Research in Cambridge.
The Guardian

Boxed in (Web exclusive)
People often confuse computing and consumer electronics, though they are very different industries and work on different principles. But personal computers are becoming more like consumer electronics devices, and in the future, that could change....
Schofield on Saturday
Guardian Unlimited

Thursday, March 6, 2003

Duct tape, and duck tape, and things you can do with it. Two sites to support the Department of Health's mental health anti-stigma campaign. Lavasoft has launched a new version of Ad-aware. Primal Art -- the exhibition of the forthcoming Sony PlayStation game. Virtual U: an educational simulation game that lets you run an American university. Images from New York collections. Six of the best: F1.
Guardian Online: Web watch

EXIF -- reading and saving the picture data from your digital camera. Potect your privacy on the Web, and visit a site that will audit your PC. Stopping those pop-up ads that arrive via the Windows Messenger service. Symbols for male and female. How to get a window back on screen when you can't grab it with the mouse.
Ask Jack

When innovation is a bad idea (Web exclusive)
Almost everyone pays lip service to the idea that innovation is good, but very often it isn't -- it can be more trouble than it's worth. Sometimes it's actually a "negative benefit", when it involves a variation from market standards, as it did with IBM's launch of the PS/2 range of personal computers in the 1980s.
Schofield on Saturday
Guardian Unlimited

Thursday, February 27, 2003

A spammer in the works -- and how you can greatly reduce the amount of spam that reaches your mailbox.
Guardian Online

Sending large files via a mobile phone is probably not a good idea, but you can compress them first, and split them into parts. The page to visit if your browser has been hi-jacked in favour of Searchex.com. Floppy disks still have their uses. Backchat on Windows NT (2000/XP) software compatibility, premium rate phone numbers, and Pretty Good Privacy (PGP).
Ask Jack

Integration's what you need (Web exclusive)
Here's another paradox: every year, the computer industry offers more and more power, and more and more capabilities, but does it with fewer and fewer parts. The secret of success is integration, and it is happening at every level of the industry.
Schofield on Saturday
Guardian Unlimited

DIY: Build your own PC. What to buy next after Windows 98. Windows XP: product activation and registration are two different things. A porn link that comes from mis-typing the address. AutoCorrect in Microsoft Word. Backchat: AOL parental controls, and the company that got a huge bill for dialling 090 numbers.
Ask Jack
Guardian Online

One program to rule them all (Web exclusive)
Here's an interesting paradox. The computer industry is widely acknowledged to be one of the most brutally competitive markets the world has ever seen. So why are most segments of the market dominated by a single supplier? Both old fashioned and new fashioned ecomonics have answers -- economies of scale; network effects. But in the end, the answer often boils down to: "well, it makes life easier".
Schofield on Saturday
Guardian Unlimited

Thursday, February 13, 2003

Wi-Fi is the simplest way of installing a home network and making a broadband Internet connection available to several computers. A new generation of systems that combine Wi-Fi with a broadband adaptor, such as BT's new Voyager 2000, make it even easier.
Guardian Online

St Valentine's Day, and William Gibson's new book, Pattern Recognition. Lana Clarkson, the B-movie queen killed in the Spector case. San Diego is Googletown. Send your complaints about poor service by text message to Grumbletext. Meet Zoe, the AIM (or AOL Instant Messenger) chat-bot. The ice warrior who plans to walk to the pole (not a Dr Who character). Ze's on-screen kaleidoscope. Six of the best: Valentine's Day.
Web watch

Filtering out spam, and tackling spam in AOL mailboxes. What is the best alternative to AOL? Buffering and breaks in streaming media. Backchat: more on typing the musical marks for sharp, natural and flat, and how to see the BCC: list in Outlook Express e-mail you have sent.
Ask Jack

Microsoft needs to find new markets in order to generate growth. The launch of the Xbox games consoles and Smartphone 2002 software are among the recent examples. But it is also starting to get serious about an area it has more or less ignored for 25 years: business software solutions, such as CRM (Customer Relationship Management). Although not ready to take on the heavyweights such as IBM and Siebel, it's a market Microsoft has marked out for "consolidation": ie takeover.
Computer Weekly

The open road to success (Web exclusive)
Palm's strategy is to avoid Apple's mistake, and turn itself from a vertically-integrated company into one of many supporters of a horizontal platform. Vertical integration is a good way of opening up a new market by offering "the whole product". However, in the long term, no single company can supply everything users of a successful platform will need. They need to get other companies on board to produce a choice of hardware, software and services, and drive down prices. It means switching from the vertical to the horizontal approach. Apple failed to do that when it mattered, but Psion and Palm are among the companies trying to make it work.
Schofield on Saturday
Guardian Unlimited

Memory on the cards: a round-up of the main types of memory storage card from CompactFlash to the mini-me RS-MMC cards that are coming soon. These cards are used in all sorts of gadgets from palmtops to cameras to voice recorders and MP3 players, and you may well end up with several incompatible types. Here's what to watch....
Guardian Online

What can you do (in the UK) if you have an e-mail "stalker". How to protect your personal files in Windows. The GuardianUnlimited Web site and access for people with disabilities. How to get a dynamic Web page sent by e-mail. Looking after lithium-ion batteries. Getting flat and sharp on the page with a musical font for Windows and Mac. Backchat: phone drop charges, and running Turnpike software under Windows XP.
Ask Jack

The joys (and risks) of being horizontal (Web exclusive)
The computer industry has turned through 90 degrees during the past 25 years. In the early days, it made sense for manufacturers to be "vertically integrated," supplying complete systems -- hardware, operating software, applications etc. The problem with that is that it locks users into proprietary and, inevitably, expensive systems. But, particularly after the launch of the IBM PC, the industry has changed to horizontal structure with competition at every level. That competition has expanded the market and driven down prices. However, the problem with chosing "best of breed" parts is that users have to become their own IT managers and system integrators.
Schofield on Saturday
Guardian Unlimited

The Smoking Gun has what The Who guitarist Pete Townshend wrote about child porn a year ago. Habeas uses a haiku to show e-mail is not spam. The EU is having a Year of People with Disability and IBM is aiming to make Web sites more accessible. Listen to old-time radio at RadioLovers. The Ten Second Film Competition (short enough to enter with many digital still cameras) and This Page Intentionally Left Blank. Plus: Six of the best online photo albums.
Guardian Online Webwatch

If you are getting lots of e-mail from big@boss.com, it's a virus, of course. Opt out: spam from Opt in Marketing. How to control cookies. Sites to help you rip DVDs to CD, free. Is a Wi-Fi system in the lounge a health risk? Back chat: securing e-mail with PGP, and "typo of the week", Simsbury's.
Ask Jack

Why VHS was better than Betamax (Web exclusive)
The triumph of VHS is frequently cited as an example of the market choosing inferior technology. This reveals far too simple an understanding of the market and the way consumers buy things.If you look at "the whole product", you can see buyers making rational decisions. However, if you look deeper, it turns out that VHS wasn't inferior technology -- the story is an "urban myth" -- and Betamax actually lost because it didn't do what consumers wanted.
Schofield on Saturday
Guardian Unlimited

Ripping a CD in Windows XP while avoiding WMA (Windows Media Audio). Changing Windows File Types to get multimedia files played with the program you prefer. How much power do you need to handle photo-imaging? (As much as you can get, usually!) Backchat: more on typing accents, and more on recycling PCs.
Guardian Online Ask Jack

Vote for the best of the first decade of the Premier League. Getting the Olympic Games to London. Where to socialise online -- The Sims Online, or There. Feedroom: broadband news on the Web, and an Online Homebase where you could keep jottings. Blo.gs for tracking your favourite blogs. Six of the best: Flight, the first 100 years.
Guardian Online Webwatch

Back after its seasonal holiday, the Ask Jack column points to places where you can recycle an old PC or Mac, and whether it's worth upgrading from Windows 98 to make USB connections. CD: the possible pitfalls of using "packet writing" software (or "drive letter access" software) for backing up data. Getting rid of Lop.com's browser hi-jacker. The solution to switching identities in Outlook Express 6. Backchat: readers suggest different ways to enter accented characters in e-mail applications.
Ask Jack

Clients are putting on weight. Not only did the "thin client"/Network Computer idea flop in the computing industry, things that used to be extremely thin clients -- such as phones and TV sets -- are getting fatter by the day.
Computer Weekly > Technology > Networking

The birth of the "information age" could look like a black hole to our descendants because they won't be able to read out data -- either because the hardware is no longer available, or no-one can read the file formats, or copy protection makes it impossible. The BBC's Domesday discs are a case in point since the hardware needed to read them has already become obsolete. The question is, what to do about it....
Guardian Online

Pixel of the bunch: some models to look at if you're thinking of buying a digital camera for Christmas.
Guardian Online

Christmas games charts: The Getaway has unexpectedly snatched the top spot from the GTA: Vice City, the fastest selling game the UK has ever seen. Deprived of the top spot, Electronic Arts dominates the rest of the charts...
Games watch

Christmas is a good time to back-up your PC (please, not as an annual job) or important file even if it means splitting a large file across several floppy disks. Encrypting e-mail. Unable to switch identities in Outlook Express after installing Service Pack 1. Entering accents/accented characters in Outlook Express. Backchat: Mac firewalls and Partition Magic revisited.
Ask Jack

Chip designers have been putting amusing little drawings on some of their bits of silicon, and you can now see the photo-micrographs online. The Spamarchive is collecting spam. The BBC's Celebdaq (a UK site like the Hollywood Stock Exchange) is to become the basis for a TV programme. The Victorian Dictionary; the search for Great Britons; and Forced Migration Online. Six of the best: digital camera sites.
Guardian Web watch

The C drive is full but you still have lots of space on D: what can you do about it? Mac firewall software. Plugging a Sony PlayStation (or other games console) into a PC monitor. Opera 6 crashing -- it's an ad thing. The jdbgmgr.exe hoax "virus" is still going strong.
Ask Jack

Think about chips if you are buying a PC for Christmas. Under attack: what your firewall can tell you. If you have a router, you still need a firewall. Closing port 139. Outlook to go: a Rex was the smallest portable to synchronise with Outlook but some phones can do it too. Backchat: more websites about digital cameras, and OneTel's support for 64Kbps ISDN.
Guardian Online: Ask Jack

Comdex or CES? The balance has shifted to the Consumer Electronics Show, which is held in Las Vegas in January.
Computer Weekly

What's new at Comdex -- a round up of the Best of Show winners, dominated by Microsoft Tablet PC hardware and software, and some of the less prominent gadgets such as mice and business card readers.
Guardian Online

Most wanted toys; Ruavista, a look at urban streets; Trailsides walking tours; National Geographic's geosurvey questions; where to write reviews of British television programmes; sending e-cards to help GOSH; UCI Cinema's new site for kids; DIY portal software from the Internet Scout Project; and Six of the Best sites for toon lovers.
Web watch

What to do if you can't open attachments in Outlook Express 6 (with SP1 installed). Is it still worth upgrading that old Windows 95 machine? What do you need to do when you get "always on" broadband? Install a firewall. A Web site that could help you choose a digital camera. Backchat: more on linking PCs with USB and Ethernet cables, and the real appeal of ISDN.
Ask Jack

Picture perfect: the market for digital cameras is now worth more than the market for still cameras, in the UK. But if you are thinking of buying one, here are some points to watch.
Guardian Online cover story

Prattle from Seattle: a first look at the Comdex computer trade show, being held this week in Las Vegas, starting with the traditional keynote from Microsoft chairman Bill Gates.
Guardian Online

Connecting PCs with a USB-to-USB cable: a warning. ISDN as an expensive substitute for broadband. You can convert your Windows XP hard drive to NTFS but Zip disks and floppies stick to FAT (the DOS file system). Summoning the contact pane in Outlook Express. Which operating systems recognise USB drives. Mouse madness -- how to cope withy superspeed scrolling in Microsoft Word. Backchat: more on getting your Web site onto Google; handling Zone Alarm dial-ups; downloading albums with WinMX; and the McAfee hotfix for a problem that could be making your PC slow down and crash.
Ask Jack

Monday, November 18, 2002

The Bill Gates Show: Microsoft's co-founder kicks off the Comdex computer trade show in Las Vegas with an extended advertisement for Microsoft and many of its works.
Online Web exclusive

Corridor warriors: Microsoft and its hardware partners duly launched the first Tablet PCs (not the first tablet PCs). I can't imagine many people will be tempted to rush out and buy one, but the different models at least offer a choice of approaches.
Guardian Online: What's new

Congratulations to 5 year old Free Pint; Terry Riley and -- literally -- space music; online pronunciation guides; searching Google for cookery recipes; the Web's smallest advert; cowbells; a snap-taking MTV game; and six of the best things to do daily.
Web watch

DVD storage should soon be ready for the mass market with the arrival of cheaper multi-format drives; the searchable Ask Jack replaces Bostik; getting a Web site noticed; Mailwasher (beta version) can now bounce spam from Hotmail; Zone Alarm dialling out; and the problem of spam that arrives via an obscure Windows messaging service (one you probably have not heard of).
Ask Jack

Guardian Online Web site redesigned!

Microsoft and its PC partners launched the Tablet PC at the iMax cinema in London today. Britain's RM (formerly Research Machines) had a starring role thanks to its trials with primary and secondary schoolchildren.
Guardian Unlimited: Netnews (Web exclusive)

The music file-sharing scene isn't what it used to be, but you can still swap songs using a range of different software, including WinMX.
Guardian Online: Working the Web

Backing up a laptop PC. Home Phone Networking (HPNA). Junk mail from Microsoft Hotmail, spamming messages in Microsoft Windows Messenger, and yes, you can keep those e-mail alerts if you switch to Yahoo. Backchat: how Robin O'Connor handles interviews.
Ask Jack

Computer Weekly Web site redesigned.

Microsoft is trying to refine the phone business to make it more like the PC business. So far the only example of a Microsoft smartphone, the Orange SPV, doesn't measure up, but the strategy is important even if the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
Computer Weekly > Technology > Mobile Computing

The Olympus DS-330 digital voice recorder has a USB connection and works with both PCs and Macs, but it's pricey and I didn't find the performance compelling. Also out: the first of Palm's new Tungsten range, Hauppauge's £129 DEC2000-t for picking up Freeview TV, a Pen Drive for USB 2.0, and the smallest ever Dell desktop PC.
Guardian Online: What's New

Multikult offers help with British bureaucracy in a wide range of languages, including Albanian. Liberati: a free art show. David Beckham kit on sale at Marks & Spencer. A Babalizer that translates phrases via multiple languages to see what comes out the other end. Road transport museum sites. Links to sites that make charitable donations. BMX XXX, Private Dancer and other rude games, and a miniature golf to play on the Web. Six of the best: Wi-Fi sites.
Web watch

Speech matters. Can you use a speech recognition to transcribe interviews with reasonable accuracy? How does Jimmy Corkhill in Brookside send voice emails, and what other software will do the job? You can get text-to-speech software that will read texts aloud, but can you save the sound to a wav file? What to do if the networking icons have disappeared from the Windows task bar (Systray). Backchat: remember, it is best to install an upgrade version of Windows to a clean drive: you only need a disc from the old version, it does not have to be installed.
Ask Jack

Microsoft enters the smartphone market. Next week, Orange will put the first smartphone based on Microsoft's Smartphone 2002 software, which is based on the PocketPC suite. It certainly has its good points, such as the ease with which you can collect email. It has its bad points: the interface is a mess. But what is perhaps more significant in the long term is that this is not just a phone, it is an attempt to redefine the mobile phone industry.
Guardian Online

What to do if Windows XP fails to start, and you suspect you may have lost data. Why your mail is returned marked "Too many hops". Trying to find a truly silent mouse (help wanted). An ad-removal program that does not need Windows 98 or later: Spybot. Is it worth upgrading a notebook PC from Windows 2000 Pro to XP? Backchat: making PDF files with Ghostscript and Ghostview.
Ask Jack

Miracle workers: South Korea is the world leader in broadband, leaving the UK in the dust. The DTI sponsored a Brunel University mission to find out what we could learn.... and courtesy of an LG Electronics press trip, I made my second visit to see for myself.
Guardian Online

Toshiba has just launched a new PocketPC, and Dell is apparently going to shake up the market by launching two models of a very cheap version codenamed Clemente.
What's New

The Ig Nobels have been awarded, with the Wooden Periodic Table Table making a memorable appearance. Sign language for art and design students. MIT's free (open) courseware. Medicine and Madison Avenue The official site for Premier League football (soccer) fans. Ford Motor's centenniel celebrations. Six of the best sites for Halloween.
Web watch

Satellite broadband, and where to get the various options. More on the Bugbear virus. Closing Windows 98 programs remotely with substitutes for the Task Manager. Changing the From: name in Outlook Express. Backchat: Liberty wireless broadband; retaining Windows XP; PDF in Mac OS X.
Ask Jack

The Bugbear worm/virus is doing well but does not affect Internet Explorer 6 users and should not affect IE5 users who installed the March 2001 security patch for Badtrans, Klez etc. Wireless broadband -- available in certain urban areas, including Slough. Ads added to messages sent by Lycos e-mail users. Windows XP is the best choice for a new PC -- and how to get rid of it. Plus: Backchat on cheap ways to create PDF files.
Guardian Ask Jack

What are the odds on the success of the Microsoft-backed Tablet PC? It has what it takes to be successful, and in the long term, could save companies money on buying multiple machines. However, companies won't be keen to buy them, and -- outside vertical applications -- the idea has been tried before and failed.
Computer Weekly > Technology > Mobile Computing > Columnists

Divide and rule: Palm is launching three new handhelds, starting with the Zire and Tungsten ranges. Separate model ranges for consumers and business professionals should help the company sharpen its targeting, while the ARM-based Tunsten PDA running Palm OS 5 should be more competitive with Microsoft-based PocketPCs.
Guardian Online

Search tips for Googlers: the world's favourite search engine delivers great results with one- and two-word searches, but sometimes you need to do something a bit more complex to get the answers you want.
Working the Web

TimeHunt looks beautiful but will you be able to solve the clues? Big Draw -- get your pencil out. Turner's gallery on the Tate's Web site. Google's great new news service; and can you write the first human words to be spoken live on Mars? Moviepooper, Bob Hope at the Library of Congress, WebListen and more. Plus: the top six sites for word lovers.
Web watch

What is a codec? Making a presentation with PowerPoint. How to open four home pages at once. How mail may automatically be marked as read in Outlook Express. Sending e-mail to Undisclosed Recipients, and another way to keep documents looking the way you want -- convert them to Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format) files.
Ask Jack

Keep taking the Tablets: In six weeks, a number of PC manufacturers will launch Tablet PCs with radio-frequency pens and touch-sensitive screens. It could be just the thing if you can't type or for some reason fancy sending handwritten e-mail. But if sales fail to take off, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition should still be welcome in the industries that already use tablet computers -- and there are lots of them.
Guardian Online

Your Outlook Express inbox file seems to be corrupted and you cannot see your old e-mail: what can you do? Here are some suggestions and shareware programs that could help. If the Windows XP Service Pack 1 is too big for you to download, you can ask Microsoft for a free copy on CD. If you use unusual fonts, here's how you can embed them in your Word document files. But if you want to run USB ports from Windows NT, you are probably out of luck. Plus: looking for a cheap notebook PC.
Ask Jack

Whenever someone tells me "all Wintel machines are the same", I know I am talking to someone who has lost touch with reality. There are easily more than a dozen versions of Windows for products that range from mobile phones to data centre mainframes, and Intel now makes at least five types of processor, including four that run the x86 instruction set. Then there's AMD....
Computer Weekly > Technology > Desktop Computing > Opinion

Hyper-Threading for consumer PCs and Banias, a new chip for "thin and light" notebook PCs, were the things that Intel was pushing at last week's Intel Developer Forum in San Jose.
Guardian Online

Hitching a ride into space (sorry, you can't); Future Physical and its Wear Me event; University guides; discover your XP logs online; making labels and licence plates; talk like a pirate day; and six of the best newsletters for PC owners.
Web watch

Buying a £499 PC -- and why the Wal-Mart $199 machine may not be such a bargain; the Microsoft Virtual Machine (VM) is missing from Windows XP; putting video on CD to play in a DVD player; and Locust as another way to send and receive SMS messages on a PC.
Ask Jack

The Getaway: I went to Sony's Soho-based studio for an early look at the most expensive video game ever created in Europe.
Guardian Online

Dual-booting lets your PC run two different operating systems, and Virtual PC for Windows lets you run one version of Windows inside another. Dealing with that TimeSink directory; a way round Outlook 2002's Draconian security, which blocks attachments; getting that Microsoft Office toolbar back; software that locks a CD-ROM drive; SMS gateway software that lets you send and receive SMS messages on a PC, via a GSM modem; Streambox VCR as an alternative to Total Recorder; and why that online spell-checking site is not recommended for the red-green colour-blind.
Ask Jack

The usable £299 business PC is on the way (and "business" means you won't include a monitor or VAT in the price). The reason is simple: the "new" low-cost 1.7GHz Intel Celeron that is now starting to reach the market in volume is the "old" Pentium 4 from last April, albeit with a smaller cache. If you last bought a new PC more than a year ago, the new cheapies will very probably be faster. And if you last bought a PC in a previous century, they are a killer upgrade.
Computer Weekly > Technology > Desktop Computing > Features

Console wars: Sony and Microsoft are fighting it out on the high street and before Christmas will cary the battle online. The latest price cuts and announcements were focused around ECTS, Europe's leading games trade show. Some of the show highlights are covered here.
Guardian Online

Running two versions of Windows allows you to have different languages, but it's not a great idea with Windows 9x. Where to put your holiday snaps online; preventing access to a CD-ROM drive -- physically; software to capture streaming audio; train software for a man with a Mac; and lots of ways to receive SMS messages on a PC.
Ask Jack

Online for £499: you can now get a usable PC for £499 in the UK, either on the high street or from a direct supplier, such as Dell.
Guardian Online

Royal Mail and Parcelforce are trying new ways to deliver things; 100 endangered monuments; turning pages on the British Library site; a bicycle built for seven; a job is going for a clairvoyant; FearDotCom, the movie; American Pie; and six sites on the subject of sutainable development.
Web watch

Another "parasite" to deal with -- Marketscore; removing the games from Windows XP; transferring ST Writer files from an Atari ST to Word on a PC; how to delete write-protected files; and can you get SMS text messages on a PC? I don't think so -- but I could be wrong! Also, a reader explains how to close a Hotmail account.
Ask Jack

There is an 80% probability that Apple Computer will switch to using Intel chips within two to four years, according to Andrew Neff, an analyst at Bear Stearns. I remain sceptical, because by switching to Intel, Apple would probably be signing its own death warrant. Someone with an Intel version of OS X would have no need to support an expensive hardware division, and could simply close it down. Getting rid of the 1970s-style hardware lock-in would enable OS X's new owner to license it widely and give Microsoft a run for its money.
Computer Weekly > Technology > Servers > Columnists

The PocketPC market is hotting up with Toshiba launching a couple of attractive models, and Comapq shipping an upgraded iPaq H3970 with an impressive screen ... and a big price tag. The Toshiba e740 isn't cheap, of course, but you can hook up a PC keyboard and monitor.
Guardian: What's New

How to reduce that monster bitmap to a size that you can attach to an e-mail; don't worry if a pop-up advert on the Web shows what is on your C: drive; how to open e-mails almost maximized in Outlook Express; how to put back those Windows utilities such as Defrag, if they have gone missing; and a Web site that checks British or American spelling.
Ask Jack

Edsger Dijkstra: an obituary of the pioneering programmer best known for a phrase he did not coin: "Go To considered harmful". Needless to say, his contribution to computer science was much larger and more interesting than that.
Guardian: Obituaries

How to save your Sent Messages, and how to leave Hotmail; how to get rid of a virus that Windows Me or XP will not let you delete; an alternative firewall if AOL does not like your Zone Alarm; is Savenow.exe hogging your processing power? -- it is advertising-ware and you can remove it; how to copy a message from Outlook Express to a floppy disk; mail you did not send is being bounced back to you, and readers respond with tips on hanging up the Internet.
Guardian: Ask Jack

The results are in for the annual 5K Web page awards. Is Shakespeare better than Britney Spears? The Memory Hole site has been launched to preserve important documents online. The GoogleBroswer, mapping the Web and other graphical effects -- plus Google Labs develops keystroke surfing. Where to get a do-it-yourself Wap page. Get Bobby to check your site to make sure it provides access to all comers (eg under section 508).
Web watch

Isn't it strange how Microsoft has introduced a new set of licensing arrangements -- providing users with free upgrades -- just when meaningful upgrades are disappearing over the horizon? Longhorn, the next version of Windows NT/2000/XP, doesn't look like reaching corporate desktops until 2005/6, which means there will no upgrade within the lifespan of today's hardware. Still, this is great news for people who were smart enough to move to Windows 2000 in 1999 and plan to stick with it, eg me :-)
Computer Weekly Strategy > Software Licensing > Columnists

Chat to the future: There's a war going on in instant messaging (IM), between AOL (with AIM and ICQ), Microsoft, Yahoo, Trillian, Jabber and more. It does not look as though it will be resolved any time soon.... (The printed version of this long piece has a great illustration by Bill Butcher.)
Guardian Online

Suppose you reloaded all your carefully-accumulated CD rips on to your PC and found you could not play them any more? That could happen if you protected them with the digital rights management system that Microsoft included in Windows Media Player, and you forgot to back up and restore the licences. And that would be pretty likely if you hadn't realised that protection was turned on by default. Fortunately all is not lost, at least in this case, and Microsoft explains what to do if you run into the problem. Now take a minute to turn licensing off, and tell your friends, too. At least 50 million people are at risk.
Also: things you can do to make sure you hang up your Internet connection when you have done; buying a .name or .me.uk address; and Forward America will work as Forward UK, too, and forward AOL e-mail.
Ask Jack

I'm not trying to do myself out of a job -- Ask Jack gets more than enough queries, thanks -- but nowadays a lot of computer problems can be solved by searching the Web. Obviously there isn't room in a short feature to mention more than a tiny fraction of the useful sites out there, but it's a start.
Guardian: Working the Web: Technical help

What do you do when you have outgrown AOL, and can you get your mail forwarded? (Update: yes, Forward America will "forward UK" too.) If you feel the need to grab a Web site, software like WebStripper will do it. How to paste text in Microsoft Word without the formatting baggage. Is your PC's performance being slugged by one of Microsoft's resource hogs: FindFast or the W2K/XP indexing service? Registering Office XP, and backing up OE mail on a Mac. Backchat: the quick way to mazimize any window in Windows, and Urban Mines for recycling PCs.
Ask Jack

Two more search engines: Gigablast and Search-22; Bimbo83's very funny Watford footie thread (warning: adult ie juvenile content); Stanford's jigsaw map of ancient Rome; Tate Modern for the visually impaired; Phoneshui ... and today's PC's get so hot you really can fry an egg on a chip. Six of the best travel sites: the links you need to get out of the country legally, stay healthy, and not get screwed by your travel agent.
Web watch

John Cocke, sometimes known as the father of RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing), has died aged 77.
Guardian obituaries

Thursday, July 25, 2002

Things to do when you run out of hard drive space when running Microsoft Windows; Port 139 reported open; two quick ways to make windows maximized, and open them that way in Internet Explorer; what to do when your Windows application is so minimized you can't seem to get into it. Backchat: one reader points out that a computer that overheats when the processor runs at 100% utilization is a badly-designed computer; and another recommends a book for home PC builders.
Guardian: Ask Jack

At the Tate Modern gallery you can now borrow a multimedia guide, based on a Compaq iPaq handheld computer. It's a pilot programme that only covers a few works, but the developers say it is the first of its kind.
What's New: Tate modem

It's time handheld computers started to fit in with their bigger brethren instead of requiring dedicated peripherals... and the new Toshiba e740 PocketPC seems to be a step in the right direction. Indeed, it is possible to imagine it replacing your desktop and notebook PCs, phone, MP3 player and numerous other gadgets.....
Computer Weekly > Technology > Mobile Computing > Features

Monday, July 22, 2002

How realistic is the technology in the movie Minority Report?
Guardian G2

Summer of content: Books to read on the beach, if you haven't already read them. This is very far from being a complete guide, but does at least get you started in most of the major areas.
Guardian Online

Is a Windows program maxing out your processor and causing crashes through overheating? Is someone sending spam using your e-mail address? What to back up in Outlook Express e-mail. Is it worth building your own PC?Plus: ECOMWR.DLL not found; looking for the virtual truck program; and FavOrg, a free PC Magazine program to keep those favicons up to date.
Ask Jack

More attempts to stop spam from Email Filtering (EMF) and Cloudmark's SpamNet. Microsoft's MapPoint has finally been launched in the UK. Virgin Radio streams MP3 files and is the most listened to station on the Web. How Twinkies saved superheroes. Aneki's ranking site. The OpenFind search engine is now in beta in the US. Things to do to give your Web site more credibility. Six of the best golf sites, and more.
Web watch

Pixels at an exhibition: I sat down with Henry Jenkins, games guru from MIT, before the opening of the Game On exhibition at the Barbican art gallery. This is some of what he had to say....
Guardian Online: Birth of a medium

A billion units: PCs passed a milestone in April and Gartner Dataquest expects the industry to shift another billion by 2008. But there could be a backlash if digital rights management systems are used to control what users can do with entertainment content such as music, videos and games.
Second Sight

Things to do to make Outlook Express safer and protect yourself from virus attacks. Also, what are Favicons and where did they go? How to make sure you get the site you want -- in this case, the UK version of the Financial Times. Plus: other ways to reduce screen contrast and reduce the risk of eye-strain.
Ask Jack

Palladium: prison or protector? There's been a lot of talk about Palladium, and most of it has missed the crucial facts. First, there's an industry-wide attempt to move to "trusted platform" computers, and the world's two biggest computer companies are founder members: IBM and HP/Compaq. It's not just Microsoft, by any means. Second, "trusted platform" hardware can be built into CD-R and DVD drives, keyboards, smart card readers and other peripherals. If you manage to avoid "trusted platform" PCs, you may end up isolated because other things wont talk to them.
Computer Weekly > Technology > Security

The end of free: Web sites and Web services are under pressure to move from free to fee.
Guardian Online

Ways you can try to reduce the amount of spam in your mailbox; why a virus checker doesn't check all your mail as it arrives; what to do if Internet Explorer will only save images in Bitmap format; one-way messaging for use in school; spyware programs are very unlikely to be password sniffers; where to sell your old home computers online (eBay); a recommendation for Karen's Directory Printer.
Ask Jack

You can register an interest in BT Broadband even if you can't have it. Three sites for movie fans including Movie Poop Shoot. Teaching kids about homelessness (and raising money the IT way). Sites that let you shorten Web addresses. Play the Game On game on the Barbican Art Gallery Web site. Six of the best Lego sites, and more.
Web Watch

Blurred vision could lead to a new monitor; the mouse pointer that jumps about; how to remove istarthere; the "not enough memory" message that indicates a Klez virus infection; the Ignore Phone Call message that suggests a Smartlink modem needs a driver update; synchronizing files with Fusionone; better ways to run a Mac in a PC world.
Guardian: Ask Jack

Technology for travelling light: I'd like my Wi-Fi wireless (802.11b) notebook PC to switch seamlessly to always-on GPRS and provide continuous unmetered access at a reasonable rate, please. The forthcoming Nokia D211 combo card shows it is possible.
Computer Weekly > Strategy > Technology Standards

Thursday, June 20, 2002

Anyone in the UK can have broadband now -- via satellite. The problem is paying for it. How about clubbing together to share the cost, and share the connection wirelessly?
Guardian: Second Sight

Ways to synchronize Outlook on a desktop and a notebook PC; how the IT department can help stop spam; why you may not get the Microsoft (or other) page you asked for; problems running ScanDisk; opening Word document files on a Mac, without buying Word; more ways to disable or divert F1 and other function keys, and that Caps Lock key.
Ask Jack

Where to go for the Webby results; where to name that tune you heard in an advert; kinetic typography and other creative arts; a home page for Planet Earth; M is for Nottingham; new words in the Oxford English Dictionary; Megan's map; icons that open up the Web to people with learning difficulties.
Web Watch

F1 2002: the new season's game is out now, but not really essential unless you want to play with the latest teams and drivers.
Gameswatch

RealNetworks is finally getting ready to launch a European subscription service like RealOne. The real question is how many people will be willing to pay for it.
Guardian Online

Playing DivX video clips; more on hunting Trojans; how to convert Protext files; how to remove icons from the Windows desktop; deleting filecheck (chk) files; and the Spooky! sound file that turned out not to be spooky at all.
Ask Jack

New smart phones that use handheld computer software are goiing to make life hard for handheld computer suppliers. Nokia, Psion (via Symbian), Handspring and Microsoft are targeting the new market, but isn't it about time we heard more from Palm?
Computer Weekly

Nokia has laucnhed Europe's first camera-phone, and it's also a PDA, being based on the Symbian/Psion Epoc operating system. The camera isn't just a gimmick: the Multimedia Messaging Service lets you send pictures to other phones or to e-mail addresses. No doubt there will be smaller, sexier devices along soon, but the Nokia 7650 is an impressive start.
Guardian Online: Mobile Matters

Kartoo, a different sort of meta-search engine; Web and video competitons for school kids; more World Cup soccer sites; What's better; Google Labs; and the book and the Dynabook. Six of the best: Big Brother 3 sites.
Webwatch

Spooky! Video-conferencing via webcams, programs to remove logos and branding from Internet Explorer, and more on converting Locoscript documents for Word use.
Ask Jack

Championship Manager for the Microsoft Xbox is the real thing, so you can now play one of the world's most engrossing games on a humble console. But if you are the sort of person who, like me, worries about the state of your rapidly growing database of game data, then you may not be too happy to trust it to this kind of device.
Gameswatch

The Webbed World Cup -- links to some of the leading sites, and to software you can download for your handheld computer or desktop PC running Microsoft Excel.
Guardian Online

Cheap printers, expensive cartridges -- a business model that could be under threat as the European Commission moves to investigate cartridge prices and any attempts to discourage recycling or refilling cartridges.
Second Sight

Surf Anytime not all the time; the Bill Gates "free money" mailtracking hoax does yet another circuit of the net; reading Locoscript files on a PC; making sites with small type readable; how to get rid of Internet explorer branding and those logos nobody likes; and a reader offers a better way to start more than one Windows program at once. It may not be clear fromthe Guardian presentatin but the four lines of Ben's sample script should read as follows:
Dim WshShell
Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
WshShell.Run ("C:\PROGRAM1.EXE")
WshShell.Run "C:\PROGRAM2.EXE",7
Ask Jack

Beware proprietary data formats. Follow Schofield's First Law and don't lose access to your own data.
Computer Weekly Strategy > Technology Standards > Columnists

Kazaa and Madster revisited, streaming the Soccer Six, London Tourist Board, the annual 5K Web-page competition, checking the security of your browser, and The Matrix 2 -- first video sample. Six of the best: Festivals.
Guardian Webwatch

How to write a batch file to run two Windows programs from a single icon; converting WordStar files for Microsoft Office XP; blocking Shockwave ads with Proxomitron; overwriting Windows Me with XP; and Backchat with readers' responses.
Ask Jack

The world's most comprehensive exhibition of videogames -- hardware, software and associated artifacts -- has just opened at the Barbican Art Gallery in North London. It will be on for four months so see it if you can.
Guardian Online: Game On

The PaceBook is a tablet PC of the sort Microsoft boss Bill Gates reckons will become popular, using a new version of Windows XP, when that appears. PaceBlade is a Microsoft partner so this provides an early look at the direction. (And while I haven't used it, I don't think I would find any Windows machine powered by a slow Transmeta Crusoe usable.) The AlphaSmart 300 is yet another run at the AA battery-powered portable for text entry market. The IBM ThinkPad T30 and similar notebook PCs are much more conventional and therefore much more attractive, if you're buying.
Notebook computers

The jdbgmgr.exe virus hoax; directory services in Outlook Express; ways to delete deleted mail in Outlook Express; and the very slow Windows Explorer problem. Also, readers write back about the ADSL/USB problem with VIA chip sets, stopping popups and other matters.
Ask Jack

What amounts to Microsoft's retrial -- being held for the benefit of the nine non-settling states and Microsoft's competitors -- is thankfully drawing to a close. It only remains to be seen how much (if any) extra damage will be inflicted on PC users as a result.
Computer Weekly > Politics > Strategy & Law

Chris Locke, aka RageBoy, changed the way some of us thought about the Web back in 1994, and his message is becoming more relevant by the day. I sat down with him on his recent visit to London.....
Guardian Online

Star Wars and Spiderman are hot topics on the Web at the moment -- it's the Hollywood movie effect. Plus: a dancing Queen, Lucy Kimbell's LIX, EggPay (or not), new Nasa Mars pictures, and six of the best robot sites.
Webwatch

Connecting to BT Openworld's ADSL service: the VIA chipset problem still hasn't gone away. Other topics include software to block unwanted popups; bug-reporting features in Windows XP; where to report child porn sites. Plus: if you leave your PC switched on all the time, is it likely to burst into flames?
Ask Jack

Nintendo lauches the GameCube in the UK tomorrow (Friday) and it looks like being a cut-throat battle for the games console market. The GameCube isn't as good as the Xbox, but it's worth buying just to play Rogue Squadron, if you like that sort of thing.
Guardian Online

Yesterday (Wednesday) saw the official opening of the Cambridge University Computer Lab in the Bill Gates building, and the Microsoft Research Cambridge lab is right next door. I went to talk to Professor Roger Needham, former head of one, who founded and has been running the other for the past five years.
Online: Microsoft in Cambridge

The Microsoft cumulative bug fix gave people problems. The main ones were: which Service Pack for IE5.5, and the lack of a patch for IE5.01 on Windows 9x (95/98/SE/Me). Also: what to do about mail stuck on the server, and leaving your PC switched on all the time.
Ask Jack

The Zaurus SL-5500 handheld running Linux has finally reached the UK
What's New

As a judge in the annual Advanced Card Awards, for outstanding smart card developments, technology and applications, I am getting used to handing out gongs to Americans, and now they are going to Moscow and Malawi. It would be nice if the Brits put up stiffer opposition....
Computer Weekly

Where to report Nigerian scams and other frauds; the budget site; John Nash; Googlematic; sending your thoughts to the future; installation art; a dating service for twins; where to keep track of the current Stanley Cup playoffs, and more. The free issue of Science Week is linked incorrectly from the Guardian site: go here
Guardian Webwatch

The Klez virus and what all PC users need to do now to defend themselves; deleting Microsoft Word's stray scratch files; and importing a Netscape address book into Internet Explorer. Readers respond on the power switch issue and opening new browser windows from Google, while Joia Shillingford reports back on faxing via the Web.
Ask Jack

Can the spam: junk e-mail is costing us billions, but there are ways to stop it, with a bit of help from the government and programs like MailWasher.
Guardian Online

The letter "from Microsoft" that comes with a virus; turning off your PC; Esperanto in Word 2000; saving Outlook Express e-mail on CD; what to do about losing the back button; deleting cookies on an iMac, feedback on browser hijacking, IT training and more.
Ask Jack

Are voice response systems worth their SALT? The capability to create them will soon be coming to a Visual Studio.net near you.
Computer Weekly Technology > Development Tools > Analysis

You don't have to steal this book: you can suggest alterations or download and rewirte parts of a new biography of free software guru Richard Stallman because it has been published on much the same basis as free software.
Guardian Online

Gambling may be a mugs' game but these "long bets" are of particular interest, especially if you are the least bit geeky. Other resources include Teoma, iTools, AllSearchEngines and the Encyclopedia Britannica (11th edition). For kids, there are Unfortunate Events and Kylie Minogue sites. Plus: six of the best sites for learning about the Internet.
Webwatch

Having your browser snatched -- so it no longer defaults to the home page you chose -- is bad enough, but it is even worse if you end up a victim of porn spammers. The anti-virus sites have documented some examples of these Trojans, but if you tackle the problem in the methodical way described here, you should be able to recover, and limit the potential for future attacks.
Ask Jack

Free AV software; downloading stories for offline reading; sorting out your Start menu; and the bug that can cripple Windows 9x if your PC has too much memory.
Guardian Online: Ask Jack

Not as good as sticking a fish in your ear. Plus: the lightest PocketPC, and a voice authentication system that fits in a phone.
What's New

It's time to start fighting back against spam, because it is going to get a lot worse. There are a few things you can do....
Comuter Weekly Technology > Security > Opinion

When the Internet first came into public use, a decade ago, we had the idea that location no longer mattered: we had done away with geography. Now, almost everywhere, suppliers are starting to use maps, and Location-Based Services (LBS) are seen as the coming thing.
Guardian Online

A site to help kids with problems; Sexiest Geek competition; Irish museum exhibits net art; online graffiti competition; searching Microsoft sites from Google; the descent of man; and Flash 99% Good, or should that be bad.
Webwatch

Blacklisted for spamming, even though it wasn't you; sending faxes via the Web; choosing a notebook PC; unhiding files and folders to find the SendTo directory in Windows Me.
Ask Jack

Last week, I complained (in Second Sight) that Web design was bad and getting worse. There were too many responses to print, but you can read some of the ones not published on the Guardian's Web site. There were good arguments on both sides....
Feedback

Mira, Microsoft's technology for making PC screens portable, is a nice idea, but having had my hands on samples, I have reservations about the implementation. (And hardly anyone seems to have realised that the "screens" are actually portable network computers in all but name.)
Guardian Online

Macromedia's Flash has emerged as a middleware contender with the launch of a more standards-compliant Flash MX, which also supports streaming video.
Guardian Online

The Web is bad and getting worse because most sites are designed for visual appearance -- or the needs of advertisers -- instead of usability.
Second Sight

Can you catch a virus from a Web page? How do you know if your PC has a Trojan? And how do you add something to the SendTo menu?
Ask Jack

Sun has launched a humungous private lawsuit against Microsoft -- one that is far bigger and far wider in scope than the US government's. This will keep a lot of lawyers in new Mercs for a long time. But Sun might do better if it just spent the money on some decent programmers.
Computer Weekly > Technology > Servers > Opinion

Intel has announced the Pentium 4-M -- the mobile version of the Pentium. Costs more, but it's a better idea than using a desktop processor in a small enclosure, unless the case design is "exquisite". With desktop Pentia due to reach at least 3GHz this year, the heat problem is not going to go away....
Guardian Online

Big Brother Awards, DivX 5 (and spyware), Ambridge audio online, Nurses are bullied, The Framley Examiner, top Xbox sites, and more....
Webwatch

Trojans: can hackers take control of your PC? Getting the right size PC screen for Web sites. Removing AutoComplete from Internet Explorer. Startup error messages that may show your PC has a virus infection.
Ask Jack

Chilling Effects is a new site logging legal moves that may restrict freedom of speech on the Web. Other sites watched this week include Viralbank, the Rocklopedia Fakebandica, and one that invites you to vote on the Seven New Wonders of the World/
Guardian Online: Webwatch

Is it worth refilling printer cartridges? Readers have their say....
Ask Jack

PCs are boring, as the Xbox games console shows. But in this case, being boring is a Good Thing.
Computer Weekly

Celebrity tattoos, a game based on Hieronymous Bosch, an interactive guide to numbers used on the net, Microsoft's entry into .Net mapping services, and the Yak's new blog for old Mutant Camels fans. Sorry, Six of the Best -- Chuck Jones sites -- has gone missing.
Guardian Online: Webwatch

Why you could lose your Hotmail account, converting WordPro 97 files, books to help you look after your PC, and backchat about e-mailing Web pages, finding news sources, TrueType fonts, and deleting index.dat files.
Ask Jack

Searching for news by date; seeing pictures in browsers; looking for a font directory; sending a Web page by e-mail. . . and why there's no MacIntel.
Guardian Online: Ask Jack

What if the Internet collapsed? The hole in SNMP, disclosed in a CERT advisory last week, could have catastrophic consequences.
Computer Weekly > Technology > Security > Opinion

PC Health in Windows Me: how to reduce the disk space it uses, or disable it; deleting an index.dat file; running a defrag; finding a printer driver for WordPerfect; and a question: are printer refills worth it?
Guardian Online: Ask Jack

Remote Assistance and other ways to control Windows at a distance; looking after a plethora of passwords (and the single-sign on idea); and the case of the missing Microsoft Backup. (Two Backchat items have gone missing from the Guardian Unlimited version.)
Guardian Online: Ask Jack

Will the hardware suppliers break GNU/Linux by creating different versions that are incompatible with one another? That's how they broke Unix. The Free Standards Group is now promoting two standard platforms instead. If it doesn't work, we could be in for another round of Unix wars with Sun v IBM again. (Unless they learned their lesson last time.)
Computer Weekly > Technology > Systems Software > Opinion

If you don't have any Spyro games and you're the target age for Pixar animated features, Monsters, Inc: Scare Island could fill a few hours.....
Guardian Online: Gameswatch

Finding the souce of a spammer or other e-mail sender, tackling those start-up programs (even with Windows 95), dealing with DINPUT.DLL, password-protecting and hiding folders, speech recognition, and free memory versus system resources.
Ask Jack

Be like Bill Gates and other billionaires: have a home entertainment network to amuse you wherever you are. That's the idea behind he Moxi Media Centre. Microsoft, Sony and a few other companies have the same idea....
Guardian Online

How to debug a problem PC the hard way, get your Outlook Express mail back, and find a new place to put your photos online.
Ask Jack

Next month, Microsoft will launch Visual Studio.Net, the leading program development system for the next generation of computing. Or so it hopes. If the master plan works, it will turn back the tide that has been running towards Java and J2EE.
Computer Weekly > Technology > Development Tools > Columnists
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Thursday, January 13, 2002

Yahoo's music launch (or Launch), WhistlerBlower, KidSmart, Fyuze revisited and more. The missing URL for Stumpers-L is here: http://www.cuis.edu/~stumpers/
Guardian Online: Webwatch

What can you do if your PC's browser is taken over by a service you don't want, such as 2KSearch? Also: moving Outlook Express e-mail, slideshows and other topics.
Ask Jack

Thought of keeping a diary online? You don't have to write about your love life on Blogger. It can be handy just to have a PC and/or palmtop synchronized with Yahoo or whatever.
Guardian Online

This year's most-asked question: how to type a euro symbol. Also test your net speed, try a new e-mail service, clean up the right-click menu, and more about travelling with a notebook PC.
Ask Jack

Some of the technologies to watch this year..... and where they are on the Hype Cycle.
Guardian Online in G2