The Ides of February 1999

E-MAIL TIP If you use Pine for e-mail, you may sometimes receive messages that appear to be written in gibberish because they're filled with extraneous text that starts with "DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN". Messages that look like this have been sent to you by someone who uses e-mail software that has the ability to send e-mail messages in HTML format. If you use Pine and receive an HTML-ized message, you can make it readable by following these steps: Press the V key (ViewAttch) Press the return/enter key to open the smaller of the two attachments When you're finished reading or printing the message, press the E key (Exit Viewer) twice to return to the original message. Then reply to the sender that you'd prefer not to receive messages in HTML format! If you use Netscape's e-mailer, be aware that it is WALS netiquette (as well as netiquette on many electronic discussion groups) that messages be sent in plain text format. Otherwise your messages will contain both plain text and HTML formats, making your messages twice as large as necessary. Make sure you've consulted with Joy Schwarz to be sure you aren't inadvertently sending out messages that are formatted in HTML. If you prefer to use other e-mail software such as Microsoft Outlook Express or Eudora, you'll need to check the software's help notes for information on configuring it. Remember: HTML belongs in web browsers, not in e-mail! ***** Virus Warning: if you receive an e-mail message with an attachment named Happy99.exe it's recommended by AVERT that you delete the message. The Ska Virus web page states that "this virus does not affect Macs, DOS, Windows 3.x, OS/2, Linux or WebTV" users. You cannot get infected with this virus/worm just by reading an e-mail message--you have to execute the attachment. In general, it's wise to be cautious about opening any attachment that has an .exe filename extension. INTERNET TIP If you use Netscape's web browser and find your screen's "real estate" is taken up by a set of toolbars you don't need, you can reclaim some screen space by hiding them. You may find that hiding the Directory buttons will be the most helpful. Netscape Navigator 4.x users: The default settings on Navigator are set to display the Navigation, Location, and Personal Toolbars. Click on the little down arrow tab on the left edge of the toolbar you want to hide, and voila, you've regained screen "real estate". You can also turn the toolbars off from the menu bar, by clicking on View and then choosing the toolbar to hide. Netscape Navigator 3.x users: On the uppermost menu bar, click Options. There will be a checkmark next to all of the toolbars you have visible on the screen. To hide any of them, simply click the toolbar name -- both the checkmark and the toolbar will disappear. However, you can still access them from the Directory or Help menus. WINDOWS TIP Has your PC's mouse been acting strange lately? Does the mouse pointer jump around the screen or stick, or won’t move at all? Before you replace it, check How To Fix A Run-Away Mouse for tips on getting your mouse back in working order. USEFUL URL O' THE MONTH Keeping Current with the Internet is a "very selective webliography" that was designed for librarians to help us keep up with the many useful resources regularly added to the Web. But it's not all dry stuff folks -- I found that one of the resources they link to, The Best Information on the Net (BIOTN), has some fun stuff like The Hampster Dance, that they say is "better than Prozac. I defy anyone to remain depressed looking at these dancing rodents, with or without the music." Enjoy! FUN URL O' THE MONTH "Tired of being branded a "newbie" by grizzled PC veterans with wrist braces? Fed up with attractive members of the opposite sex at the beach crowding around someone with a more impressive laptop? Give Dr. Carpal three weeks of your life, and you can kick the acronyms right back in their faces". Just visit Dr. Carpal's Instant Computer Expert Method by "Gil Bates" (hmmmm...there's something about that name...I just can't put my finger on it...) RECIPE O' THE MONTH is Tom's Departing Punch. back to the Ides Archive home

 

	This page was last updated February 15, 1999
	The Ides is written by Joy Schwarz. Please direct any questions, comments or recipes to schwarz@winnefox.org
	URL: http://www.winnefox.org/ides/idesfeb99.html