Leo's Answers #34 – July 14, 2006

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

Hello!

*** Contents

• New Articles of Note on Ask Leo!
• A Word from our Sponsor
• Popular Articles from the Archives
• Thoughts and Comments
• Newsletter Administration

*** New Articles of Note on Ask Leo!

"(Not Responding)" - What does it mean, and what do I do about it?

"Not Responding" appears in the title bar of a running program when Windows detects that the program isn't behaving properly. Exactly why depends on the specific program and what you were doing at the time.

Let's look at some of the possibilities which range from actual software or hardware problems, to user impatience.

Continue reading: ""(Not Responding)" - What does it mean, and what do I do about it?"
http://ask-leo.com/not_responding_what_does_it_mean_and_what_do_i_do_about_it.html

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How do I put a picture into the caption of a picture on myspace.com?

While it might sound funny to put a picture as caption on another picture, it makes a lot of sense if you're trying to add an emoticon or other icon.

I've already covered How to put a picture in a comment on myspace, and while this seems different, it's really very, very similar.

Continue reading: "How do I put a picture into the caption of a picture on myspace.com?"
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_put_a_picture_into_the_caption_of_a_picture_on_myspacecom.html

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Cyclic Redundancy Check: what is it, and how do I get rid of it on my newly burnt CDs and DVDs?

A "Cyclic Redundancy Check", or more commonly just "CRC", is a error detection mechanism that makes sure that the data you're trying to read from media such as hard disks, CDs and DVDs is actually correct. By "correct" we mean that the data you read is in fact the data that was written.

When a CRC check fails, there are several possibilities and places to look.

Continue reading: "Cyclic Redundancy Check: what is it, and how do I get rid of it on my newly burnt CDs and DVDs?"
http://ask-leo.com/cyclic_redundancy_check_what_is_it_and_how_do_i_get_rid_of_it_on_my_newly_burnt_cds_and_dvds.html

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Why am I not getting all messages sent to the mailing list I'm on?

Getting email delivered reliably is getting harder and harder. Mailing lists are a particularly precarious position as more and more roadblocks are set up to prevent spam.

But spam's just the biggest reason. There are actually several other possibilities.

Continue reading: "Why am I not getting all messages sent to the mailing list I'm on?"
http://ask-leo.com/why_am_i_not_getting_all_messages_sent_to_the_mailing_list_im_on.html

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What's so special about a "permalink"?

That stumped me too, when I first entered the world of blogging. I mean, a link's a link, right?

Well, yes, and no. But mostly yes.

Among other things, it's a helpful reminder of what you might want to link to, if you want that link to be meaningful a month or a year from now.

Continue reading: "What's so special about a "permalink"?"
http://ask-leo.com/whats_so_special_about_a_permalink.html

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How do I make an msn.com email address instead of hotmail.com?

This question, which I actually get surprisingly often, puzzles me. I scratch my head in wonder each time I get it.

My question to everyone who keeps asking is this: Why? What's the big deal about an msn.com email address?

Continue reading: "How do I make an msn.com email address instead of hotmail.com?"
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_make_an_msncom_email_address_instead_of_hotmailcom.html

*** A Word from our Sponsor

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*** Popular Articles from the Archives

Seems like not a day goes by we don't here another story about MySpace. I've even noted that a lot of new movie releases will have their web address as a myspace.com account instead of dedicated web site. MySpace.com certainly seems the flavor of the month, if not the year.

A friend of mine recently released a good eBook called Myspace 4 Parents, aimed, as you might expect, at how parents might protect their children in MySpace.

That brought to mind this podcast of mine from earlier this year.

What's so special about myspace?

Folks are concerned about myspace.com. Should they be?

Read the transcript, or listen to the podcast... What's so special about myspace?
http://ask-leo.com/whats_so_special_about_myspace.html

*** Thoughts and Comments

I said goodbye to an old computer this week.

A few years ago I purchased a couple of "white box" computers. Rather than being brand name computers, "white box" computers are assembled at local computer stores out of generic parts. The name comes from the generic white cases that are used.

The machines were mistakes from the beginning. Each had problems - nothing so severe that I could take back - more like annoyances that I never experienced with my brand name Dells. But I used them for a few years in various capacities. One now serves simply as a "thin client" running only Windows Remote Desktop to connect to other computers elsewhere in the house. The other was most recently a machine on which I experimented with Debian Linux.

The fan started to go, my next Linux (Ubuntu) wouldn't install on it, it was all of 500 megahertz ... I'd had enough. I gutted it. I pulled the expansion cards (video, network and SCSI controller) to be saved for possible future use, pulled the hard drive, CD-ROM drive and pretty much trashed the rest.

This time, though, I grabbed a USB hard drive enclosure and put the 10gig drive in that. That went surprisingly well, and I now have a nice, portable, 10gig drive I can add to any of my computers with a USB connection. Eventually 10gig will seem "too small" (much like the 2gig drive I also removed and plan to destroy), but for now, it's a nice way to recycle the drive and get a little more lifespan out of it.

Oh, and I pulled the processor, a Pentium III, and added that to a small collection of CPUs and hard disk platters I display on shelf in my office. That's kinda geeky, isn't it?

'till next week...

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The Latest:
Forwarded Funnies:	"Biker Chicks"
Taming Email:	"The Most Under-Used Key on Your Keyboard"
Leo's MovableType Tips:	"Get creative with HTML"

*** Newsletter Administration

Do you have a question? A comment, perhaps? Newsletter subscribers can drop me a line at leo <at> ask-leo.com. (I only give that email address to newsletter subscribers, so I'll know it's from one of my loyal readers.) If you like, you can make sure you get past any spam filters by simply posting your question or comment using the Ask Leo! question form: http://ask-leo.com/askleo.html.

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.

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