*CyberCoyote - October 2007*

TIPS, TOPICS and TWEAKS

*Create New Folder*
Creating new folders can be tedious when you're using Windows Explorer. Virtually all file dialog boxes give you a "New Folder" button. Why not Windows Explorer? Duh! Now the How-To Geek shows us -- Ta-da! -- how to do it. Thank you, thank you, thank you... :-)
http://cybercoyote.org/links/095.html

*Spam-Proof*
Go over to HTCC Episodic to see how I keep my email virtually spam-free. It's work to beat spam, but it can be fun. ;-)
http://cybercoyote.org/links/099.html

*Mr. Modem!*
Read the latest "Mr. Modem!" column online.
http://cybercoyote.org/articles/modem.shtml

COMPUTING

*PCs for Tight Places*
Many of you use a laptop PC because you need to save space, not because you need a portable computer. You don't save much desk space if you like to use an LCD monitor and/or an external keyboard though.

You can do better with new incarnations of some old ideas: computers in keyboards and computers in displays. Fewer wires, and you won't have any battery fires. :-)
http://www.cybernetman.com/default.cfm?DocId=602 -- Cybernet http://www.gateway.com/programs/one/index.php?rdr=v1267 -- Gateway

*Look ma . . . no laptop!*
This might be just the thing for someone you know. Send email with no computer, no mouse, no spyware, not even an ISP. Send and receive attachments too.
http://www.mycelery.com/celery_faq.php -- Celery
http://www.presto.com/ -- Presto

WINDOWS VISTA

*User Access Control*
User Access Control is perhaps the most valuable new thing in Windows Vista. Some view it as a pain in the neck, but I find it reassuring. Mark Russinovich, a legendary Windows guru, now lets you in on everything you always wanted to know about UAC.
http://cybercoyote.org/links/100.html

*Vista drive images*
The Ultimate, Business and Enterprise versions of Windows Vista all include the Vista "Complete PC Backup" utility, which includes making full drive images. Another reason to get Vista Ultimate.
http://www.google.com/search?q=vista+complete+pc+backup
http://cybercoyote.org/computer/bu-sys.shtml" -- alternative

*A new laptop for HTCC*
Well . . . sorta. You may recall my summer school assignment was to install Windows Vista on the club's laptop. I set Vista and XP up in dual-boot mode so we can use either one. Getting the Vista box open was the hardest part of the job. :-)
http://cybercoyote.org/links/082.html -- opening the box

Installing Vista was so much fun that I did it three times, but that's another story. :-) Using Vista is like switching from a double-barrel to a pump-action shotgun. You get more shots, but your reflexes are all wrong. I'm still finding my way around.
http://cybercoyote.org/software/vista.shtml -- more on Vista

*Pony Express*
Sascha Segan at PCMag.com recently wrote about the irrelevance of Windows Vista. What he had to say parallels my own thinking. I've decided to skip Vista entirely for my own use, as it's not well suited to what I do. Not that Vista wouldn't be fine for you. :-)
http://cybercoyote.org/links/092.html -- irrelevance

From what I read online, the *next* version of Windows will be very different, and well worth waiting for. It will almost certainly require hardware that's not yet available though. I'm guessing the next version will be released three years from now.

So I started thinking, if my 5-year old Dell dies in a couple of years, I won't be able to leapfrog Vista will I? I'll also end up with hardware that whatever-replaces-Vista won't run on. So I said to myself, "Self, you need a fresh pony for the rest of this ride."
http://cybercoyote.org/links/098.html -- 2008 and beyond

You can still get new computers with XP on them, but not for long (June 30, 2008). I found a bargain from HP with XP Pro on it. I spent about a week cleaning it up, installing my must-have programs, and arming it for the wild, wooly web. Right now I'm using it to write these paragraphs. A new computer is always fun, eh? :-)

Note: Did you know the Pony Express only operated for 18 months? I'm planning to ride my new pony twice that long.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_express

ODDS and ENDS

*Saguaro Moon*
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070926.html

*Oktoberfest*
Barley is proof that God loves us, and wants us to be happy. :-)
http://cybercoyote.org/links/097.html

*Smiley turns 25*
Invented before I had a PC.
http://cybercoyote.org/links/096.html

*That's all, folks.*