Leo’s Answers #60 – January 12, 2007

Leo's Answers
A Weekly Newsletter From
Ask Leo!
Leo Notenboom

Hello!

*** Contents

• This Week's New Articles on Ask Leo!
• A Word from our Sponsor
• Popular Articles from the Archives
• Thoughts and Comments
• Newsletter Administration

*** This Week's New Articles on Ask Leo!

Can I combine two internet connections to get a faster connection?

Don't I wish.

Seriously, I do wish. My DSL is limited to 768k down and 128k up. Nowadays that's slow, but it's the best my telco can do for me. No cable in my area either. I'd love to be able to hook up a second DSL line, and simply "add" the two together.

It's possible, but a) you won't like what it takes, and b) it won't necessarily get you what you think it will.

Continue reading: "Can I combine two internet connections to get a faster connection?"
http://ask-leo.com/can_i_combine_two_internet_connections_to_get_a_faster_connection.html

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How do I stop, start and generally control videos I watch on the web?

It can be very frustrating, and to quote a famous politico, "I feel your pain".

Since I produce some on-line video myself, I try to provide a good user experience - one that I, myself, would appreciate. However not all on-line video producers do everything the way you and I might want.

And yes, they're the ones in control of this situation.

Continue reading: "How do I stop, start and generally control videos I watch on the web?"
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_stop_start_and_generally_control_videos_i_watch_on_the_web.html

* * *

My registry scanner reported hundreds of errors! How do I know which to fix?

As I've discussed in an earlier article, I believe that registry cleaners are only marginally useful. One reason is that they rarely actually help anything.

Another reason is that it's all too easy to needlessly panic when you see the long list of issues they present.

That's not to say they aren't sometimes useful, but knowing what to do next in your situation ... well, that's not all that easy. It depends on the registry cleaner, actually.

Here's what I do...

Continue reading: "My registry scanner reported hundreds of errors! How do I know which to fix?"
http://ask-leo.com/my_registry_scanner_reported_hundreds_of_errors_how_do_i_know_which_to_fix.html

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Why is my friend getting two copies of my mail?

If it's only your email that causes this problem, it would seem to be your issue. However if you're not seeing any errors on your end when you send, it's going to be very difficult to diagnose.

However if it's not just your messages that are getting duplicated, then the issue would appear to be on the recipients end. The good news here is that there is an occasional configuration issue that can cause this behavior.

Continue reading: "Why is my friend getting two copies of my mail?"
http://ask-leo.com/why_is_my_friend_getting_two_copies_of_my_mail.html

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Recommendation: TightVNC free remote control

A free open source remote connection alternative to Remote Desktop.

Continue reading: "Recommendation: TightVNC free remote control"
http://ask-leo.com/recommendation_tightvnc_free_remote_control.html

*** A Word from our Sponsor

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*** Popular Articles from the Archives

This is another question I get quite literally every day - people who've received an email, and who would like to trace who sent it. The information you don't normally see that's part of your email can sometimes help get you closer to the source.

How can I trace where email came from?

I frequently get questions that boil down to How can I trace where this email came from? or Can I determine the IP address of the sender of an email?.

The answer is both yes and maybe, and it may not do you any good. However there is a lot of interesting information in your email that you normally don't see, and the trail of mail servers is part of that.

So let's interpret some email headers.

Read more... How can I trace where email came from?
http://ask-leo.com/how_can_i_trace_where_email_came_from.html

*** Thoughts and Comments

Last week I said "2007 promises to be a very interesting year for computer users" and it turns out that with just a few days that prediction came through in the form of Apple's new iPhone, announced at Macworld.

You can put me in the camp that says "yes, it's sexy, but...". You won't find me switching any time soon. It's too costly, it's tied to only one cellular carrier, it's unclear if it can be used as a modem, and/or at what speeds. Basically if I understand the product as described, I'd actually be taking a step backward from my Treo to use the iPhone. Now, a lot can change before it finally makes its debut in June, and there's always version 2 or 3 out in the future. I think it shows a lot of promise, and I'll most definitely be watching those future versions carefully.

On a more practical note, those of you running Windows XP Home might want to have a peek at this week's podcast (there's a transcript, so you don't have to listen to me if you don't want to :-). I ran into a situation where I needed a "Remote Desktop" for Windows XP Home, which of course doesn't support it. TightVNC, however, works. It's a little rough around the edges, but it's very cool, and depending on what you're doing, might be useful even if you do have Remote Desktop ability.

From an unusually cold and snowy Woodinville, 'til next week ...

* * *

The Latest:
Forwarded Funnies:	"A Collection of Quickies"
Taming Email:	"Is a Response Really Required?"
Leo's MovableType Tips:	"Use Meaningful Page Names"

*** Newsletter Administration

Do you have a question? A comment, perhaps? Newsletter subscribers can visit http://ask-leo.com/askleosubscriber.html to submit your comments and questions. That page is only mentioned here, so I'll know it's from someone who's taken the time to read this far!

I'll be honest: I'll try to respond, but I get a lot of questions every day - I just can't answer everyone. Rest assured, though, that even if you don't hear from me directly, I read every email I get.

Leo's Answers Newsletter is a weekly publication of Ask Leo! and Leo A. Notenboom. It's also available as an RSS feed at this URL: http://ask-leo.com/newsletter.xml?UD=nl. Archives of previous newsletter issues can be found on the Ask Leo! web site, http://ask-leo.com/newsletter.html.

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Newsletter contents Copyright © 2007, Leo A. Notenboom & Puget Sound Software, LLC.