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