Leo's Answers #15 – March 3, 2006

[raw]
Leo’s Answers
A Weekly Newsletter From
Ask Leo!
Leo Notenboom

Hello!

(You’re receiving this newsletter because you subscribed, and then confirmed your subscription. Simple instructions for unsubscribing are at the end of every newsletter.)

*** Contents

• New Articles of Note on Ask Leo!
• Popular Articles from the Archives.
• Thoughts and Comments
• Newsletter Administration

*** New Articles of Note on Ask Leo!

How do I keep attached photos out of an email’s message body?

Well, the short answer is: you don’t. You’re trying to control a feature that may or many not even be present in your recipients mail program.

But there are some games we can play.

Continue reading: “How do I keep attached photos out of an email’s message body?”
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_keep_attached_photos_out_of_an_emails_message_body.html

* * *

Where’d this message box come from?

At a gut level, this kinda sorta feels like spyware of some sort. But we should probably first see if we can figure out what program is generating this message, and then decide what to do from there.

Continue reading: “Where’d this message box come from?”
http://ask-leo.com/whered_this_message_box_come_from.html

* * *

What ever happened to RSS?

RSS hasn’t lived up to its promise. What will it take?

Continue reading: “What ever happened to RSS?”
http://ask-leo.com/what_ever_happened_to_rss.html

* * *

Can I send text messages between a computer and a cell phone?

Well, let’s clear one thing up right away: cell phone text messaging, or “SMS” text messaging is not the same as instant messaging on your computer. They’re two very different systems.

That doesn’t mean all is lost, however. There are some things you can do. How much depends mostly on the cellular provider, and the type of phone you have.

Continue reading: “Can I send text messages between a computer and a cell phone?”
http://ask-leo.com/can_i_send_text_messages_between_a_computer_and_a_cell_phone.html

* * *

What does “This file does not have a program associated with it” mean?

Well, in short it means that Outlook Express doesn’t know what to do with the attached file. It tries to figure that out based on the file “extension” or the characters that follow the last period in the file name; in your case, the “pps”.

So, we’ll have to tell it what to do.

Continue reading: “What does “This file does not have a program associated with it” mean?”
http://ask-leo.com/what_does_this_file_does_not_have_a_program_associated_with_it_mean.html

* * *

Why won’t my external drives shut down automatically?

I’m a huge fan of external drives. In fact, I own three of them now.

But, being the kind of guy I am, I leave my computers – all of them – running all the time. If you don’t, what you want to do depends on exactly what your external drive does when it gets “bored”.

Continue reading: “Why won’t my external drives shut down automatically?”
http://ask-leo.com/why_wont_my_external_drives_shut_down_automatically.html

* * *

Tech Site: Webopedia

http://www.webopedia.com

Ever come across an internet or computer related term or acronym that made absolutely NO sense? And yet the writer, perhaps even me, uses it as if everyone on the planet should know what it means?

Webopedia is the site for you. “The only online dictionary and search engine you need for computer and Internet technology definitions.”

FUD? TCP/IP? router? smiley? These and thousands of other words and acronyms are defined in short, easy to understand terms, and heavily cross-referenced so if you stumble across another term you’ve not heard of before, understanding is just a mouse click away.

You’ll frequently see references to Webopedia in the related links sections of Ask Leo! articles – it’s one of my go-to reference sites.

Continue reading: “Tech Site: Webopedia”
http://ask-leo.com/tech_site_webopedia.html

* * *

Is running two anti-spyware programs better than one?

If one is good, two must be better, right? And three better still!

Well, yes and no. Depending on what you mean by “run”, two can be better, or two can be a total mess.

Continue reading: “Is running two anti-spyware programs better than one?”
http://ask-leo.com/is_running_two_antispyware_programs_better_than_one.html

*** Popular Articles from the Archives

Last week it was differences between various “Messengers”, this week a hardware related difference:

What’s the difference between a Hub, a Switch and a Router?

In a word: intelligence.

Hubs, switches and routers are all devices which let you connect one or more computers to other computers, networked devices or to other networks. Each has two or more connectors, called ports, into which you plug in the cables to make the connection. Varying degrees of magic happen inside the device, and therein lies the difference. I often see the terms misused, so let’s clarify what each one really means.

Continue reading…
http://ask-leo.com/whats_the_difference_between_a_hub_a_switch_and_a_router.html

*** Thoughts and Comments

One of my “kids” rejected me. No, I’m not a parent, so it’s not one of my children, per se. It’s a product I worked on that I can apparently no longer use.

I worked on the travel site Expedia for several years when it was first released. If you’ve ever written or developed software you probably know the feeling of seeing one of your projects take off and become really successful. Expedia’s pretty cool, and one of the things I’m proud to have worked on.

But Expedia won’t take my money any more. Quite literally, and I don’t know why. So much so that I had to switch to “the competition”. You can read more about it over on my pal Randy Cassingham’s “Cranky Customer” site – http://www.crankycustomer.com/expedia_not_all_that_expedient.html.

Slightly related, several of the folks I used to work with at Expedia have started a new company and website: zillow.com. Using a combination of public sales data and mapping technologies, Zillow will let you get a ballpark estimate of your home’s current market value. Or your neighbor’s. Or that fancy mansion down the street. Like many new internet technologies, the data’s always been there, they’re just making it extremely easy to get at.

And you bet I looked up my own house first. I’ve lived in the same house for just over eight years, and real estate has done relatively well in our area. I must say I did like the numbers I saw from Zillow – even if they did have some of the details of my house wrong. :-).

Last Minute Quickie If you’re at all confused or concerend about the recent fuss about AOL’s “email tax”, my friend “Aunty Spam” has a new explanatory write-up out on The Internet Patrol: The Truth About AOL