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September - 2006

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A "Sensible" Lawsuit

Finally, litigation that makes sense! 

The FTC is going after websites that load a persistent popup ad (almost) forcing you to pay a monthly fee to make the popup go away... 

Feeding on an individual's desire for something free and our unwillingness to read the fine print, MoviePass.tv (a.k.a. MovieLand, Popcorn and MediaCaster.net) offers a free 3-day trial for their service. 

But when that "trial" period expires, you begin to receive persistent popups to subscribe.  Removal of this nuisance application is difficult at best.  The article.

HP Bad Design?

Although their article (below) does not admit to a design issue, it appears to be a common problem...

On HP Deskjet 3810, 3816, 3820, 3820v, 3820w, 3822, and 3840 Series Printers there are conditions in which the cartridges will stall and the lights will blink.  This occurs if certain parts have been broken because the ink cartridge was not fully seated.   The article.

Old news by now but here are the links you will need... --top

Dell Laptop Battery Recall

Yet another battery recall for various Dell laptops.  Many laptops are affected but only select batteries built by Sony are involved in the recall.  The link below tells you which machines are involved and how to tell if your battery is.  Click here for more information and replacement ordering.

Apple Battery Recall

It just will not end and again it is Sony batteries... 

Apple's recall includes the iBook G4 and PowerBook G4 laptop models sold between October 2003 and August 2006.  Click here for more information and replacement ordering.

Laptop Battery Care --top

Just to review...

New laptop/new laptop battery: Charge for 8 hours before unplugging from the power supply. Then, allow the laptop battery to completely discharge. Do this at least twice.

New or old battery: A battery may be damaged by overcharging (continuously on a charger for more than 24 hours).   Do not expose laptop batteries to excessive heat. If you will not be using your laptop for a while, remove the battery and store it in a cool, dry place.

Allow your laptop battery to fully discharge from time to time.

Laptop Charger Connections --top

W-A-Y too common in the industry are laptop connection failures.  Once a poor connection exists, the added resistance causes excessive heating which leads to more resistance and eventually a failure. 

Check the connection on occasion, it should NOT be hot.  If it is hot or you need to wiggle the connection to make it work, contact the manufacturer for repair!  

Because this is such a common problem in the industry and a potential safety issue, it is our opinion the manufacturers should warranty the repair even if the machine is out of warranty.  But warranty or not, do not operate a laptop with a hot power adapter connection!

Page Not Found? --top

There are many reason you may get error "Page cannot be displayed" or "Page not found messages."  Here are some things you can do to try and resolve it. 

If you use DSL or are sure your dialup is connected, the next thing to test is the connectivity with the Internet.  The quickest way to do this is from a command window: Start > Run > cmd (Windows XP) or command (Windows 98/ME)

In the black screen window type ping 69.46.192.4  then press enter.
If you see something like this, you are connecting to Lakedale's server:

Reply from 69.46.192.4: bytes=32 time=39ms TTL=252
Reply from 69.46.192.4: bytes=32 time=40ms TTL=252
Reply from 69.46.192.4: bytes=32 time=40ms TTL=252
Reply from 69.46.192.4: bytes=32 time=43ms TTL=252

If you can "ping" Lakedale, next try pinging www.yahoo.com.  If you can ping that as well there are no DNS issues.  If, however, you can ping the numbered server but not Yahoo, there are DNS issues and you will need to contact your Internet provider.  If you cannot ping either, there is a basic connection issue.  Here you can find some hints and help for connection issues or search support.microsoft.com for keyword "connection" for your operating system.

If you can ping both but still not use the Internet, the problem is likely with Windows or the Internet browser so here are some things you can check and do:

• You may have a modified hosts file.  Search the hard drive for a file named hosts.  You can simply delete it but out of curiosity, open it with Notepad and see what is there.  You should see 127.0.0.1 localhost.  Anything more may indicate a hijacked file.  Note: some Antivirus applications use this file to redirect email and changing those lines or deleting the hosts file may disrupt the service.  Sample hosts file.
• Reset (all of) the Internet Explorer's settings via Tools menu > Options.   
  Move through each tab (and each item) clicking to reset the defaults.  Also clean out all temporary files.  More information.
• Somewhat of an esoteric problem under Windows XP is when the first time you connect you get "Page not found" but clicking the refresh button succeeds:  Click Start, click Run, type netsh winsock reset then click OK.
• More testing and fixes at this Microsoft article.
• Recently we found out this newsletter (and other sites) is blocked by a parental control application.  If you have one loaded, try disabling it and see if things start working.
• Also try disabling the software firewall, at least temporarily...

Email Signatures --top

You see them at the bottom of emails but do you know how to make them?  Microsoft has a good article on making/using signatures in Outlook.  Click here for the training course.

Intel Pro WIFI Issues --top

If you have a laptop with an Intel Proset WIFI v 10.5, it may be consuming more memory than necessary causing a slow computer.

Below are the affected devices; but determining if you have one of these may prove interesting.  Right click My Computer > Properties (or Control Panel > System icon) then the Hardware (tab) > Device Manager (button).  Look for Network adapters where you will click the plus sign.  It should list there with the full model number. 

If not listed, another way to tell may be by opening the Intel manager from All Programs > Intel.  However, if you are using Windows to control the WIFI, launching the Intel software may try and take over control.

One last way to determine is to check the computer's original packing list.

• Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection
• Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915ABG Network Connection
• Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection

Here is the Intel link for software updates.

IE 7, Microsoft's Standard --top

Soon, Microsoft will list the Internet Explorer version 7 as a "high priority" update, but to get it, you must first install Windows Genuine Advantage.  The WGA then checks the computer's copy of Windows to see if it is a "legitimate" copy.

We have seen a couple of computers that did not pass the WGA test even though they were apparently legitimate copies of Windows.  This apparently is not an isolated problem, leaving those owners in a difficult position.  In order to continue receiving updates from Microsoft they must pay for Windows.  The only other option would be to contact the computer retailer...  The article.

McAfee "Protocol" Error --top

When sending email, if you have McAfee (not sure which versions are affected) and get a "protocol" error, chances are good the email address you are sending to is invalid. 

Confirm the address is correct and has the proper syntax, e.g., whomever@wherever.whatever
Thanks Darryl

We will leave you with this from Al Lowe

Last year, I replaced several windows in my house with the expensive double-pane energy-efficient kind. This week, I got a call from the contractor complaining that it's been a whole year and I haven't yet paid him. Boy, did we argue.

Just because I'm blonde doesn't mean I'm stupid.

I told him exactly what his salesman told me a year ago: that my new windows would pay for themselves in one year!  There was silence on the other end of the line, so I hung up and I haven't heard from him since.