Lakedale email

If you have a Lakedale email account, you could be missing some messages if that account is an older one, i.e., it was originally a "lkdllink" address. 

If that's the case, be sure to logon to the spam trap as both the old and new form of the address. 
E.g., email@lkdllink.net   and   email@lakedalelink.net

Cooling

If it seems like your fan is running too much, it could be...

First:  Shut the computer off!

On occasion, it's a good idea to remove the computer's cover and vacuum out the cooling fan.  Sometimes its necessary to (carefully) reach through the fan and loosen the buildup that occurs on the heat sink.  Use a non-metallic device such as a cotton swab... While you're inside the case, vacuum the vents on the power supply and the external vents. But be careful not to disturb any components, e.g., there are small jumpers on the various boards that a vacuum could pull off! Warning: If you use canned air, be very careful!  Best advice is to allow the computer to completely cool down, i.e., get to room temperature, as those sprays could produce a very cold liquid, which would damage the hot processor.

Laptops are a little more complicated...

Windows 7 & laptop batteries

The rumor that Windows 7 is draining batteries is apparently false. 

Windows 7 utilizes new battery monitoring schemes that can detect battery condition in addition to the charge level.  Since no previous version of Windows had condition monitoring ability, upgrading an older laptop to Windows 7 has resulted in some "replace the battery" warnings that users had not previously seen. 

The article.

If, however, you're running Windows 7 on a new machine and receive the warning, contact the computer manufacturer...

Installer issues

Things can and will go wrong...

If you are attempting to install something, the installation fails and/or attempts to uninstall fail, the Installer CleanUp utility from Microsoft may help...

When you are working on your computer and installing a new program, the installation suddenly fails. Now you are left with a partly installed program. You try to install the program again, but you are unsuccessful. Or, maybe you have problems trying to remove an old program because the installation files are corrupted.

The article and download.  But use with care!!!  This utility should be used only with problematic application uninstalling...

Windows updates

Tuesday the 9th Microsoft released a bunch of updates and patches.  If your machine did not automatically update, be sure to manually download and install these security updates!

Note: If the computer was infected, certain updates may cause a blue screen of death.  Microsoft has stopped the automatic update of one patch due to this problem.  The article.

The cause is an infected \System32\drivers\atapi.sys file.  Replacing this file with a clean version will get the system booting normally.

Social networks

such as Facebook and MySpace are becoming more dangerous and probably should be avoided from any business computer... 

57% of users report they have been spammed via social networking sites, a rise of 70.6% from last year. And 36% reveal they have been sent malware via social networking sites, a rise of 69.8% from last year.  The article.

What were you doing at the age of 9?

Here's a story of a young man who is an IT administrator, a teacher and a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer.

Music sharing

Do you have kids downloading and sharing music?  You'll be happy to know that if they are doing it illegally, the penalty per song has gone way down...

Michael Davis, chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, chopped the amount to $54,000, or $2,250 per song.  The article.

Online manuals

As mentioned in '08, if you are looking for the manual of an appliance, computer, camera or most anything else, try: http://safemanuals.com/

Thanks for the reminder, Bob

Windows 7 "God Mode"

If you have Windows 7, this is very cool.  Create a new folder on the Desktop then name it (exactly):

GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

More about the God Mode here.

Thanks, Bob

Quick calculator

We forgot all about this until accidentally typing numbers in the Google search... Other calculators: Various calculators. Compare dollar value to or from different years. Download calculator. Printer cost per page.

 

December's newsletter

In the event you did not receive the notice, here are last month's newsletter contents:

• Email hyperlinks broken

• Bing maps

• DNS servers

• Riskiest websites

• New laptop/battery

• Free WIFI?

• Junk mail

• Home page

• Out of Office

• Windows 7

• Firefox CPU usage

• iPhone worm

• Trivia

• Opinion

• Leaving you with...

http://www.bergesch.com/bcs/newsltr/2009-12.htm

Quick Links

Have a Coke and a Smile,  Be careful where you park,  Airbus A320 1549 Recovery Time-Lapse

-and-

at the generic Google site (not Igoogle) try these search words and click "I'm feeling lucky"

• google loco
• google gothic
• google bsd
• google easter eggs
• more listed here

Thanks to the Supreme Court for their decision on the campaign finance...  While we hate all those ads as much as you do, the system is once again fair for all corporations, i.e., the media, unions and now businesses alike...

According to this article, the President "suggested the ruling could jeopardize his domestic agenda."  - What arrogance! 

"I'm living in a society in which I no longer wish to participate!"

But our reason is a very different one...

Taxpayers to Fork Out $2.5 Million for Single Census Ad During Super Bowl  The article.

And - are they kidding?

The FBI is pressing Internet service providers to record which Web sites customers visit and retain those logs for two years...  The article.  And more...

George was right and this is yet another step closer...

This Economy Is So Bad that...

• I ordered a Whopper at Burger King and they asked me, "Can you afford fries with that?"
• CEOs now play miniature golf.
• Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen.
• The bank returned my check marked "Insufficient Funds" and I had to call them to ask if they meant me or them.
• Stock in Hot Wheels is trading higher than GM.
• McDonalds is selling a quarter-ouncer.
• The Mafia is laying off judges.
• Beverly Hills parents fired their nannies and had to learn their kids' names.
• A truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico.
• Dick Cheney took his stockbroker hunting.
• Motel Six has stopped leaving the light on.