Dennis Faas

Windows 2000 users have a reason to jump for joy -- Microsoft has recently released Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3). What is a Service Pack (SP)? If you're new to Windows or have never heard of a Windows Service Pack -- it's a major software ... release which makes Windows more stable. Software fixes generally include: resolved security breaches, compatibility issues, bug fixes, and the like. Generally speaking, a HotFix is a downloadable program that resolves a recently discovered exploit in the Windows Operating system. A HotFix is also referred to as a "software patch", and can ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Ken H. asks, " Can I download films directly to my burner from the Internet? " My response: You can't download files to your CD burner on the fly unless you have DirectCD installed. Even so, I don't recommend downloading and ... directly burning to CD, mostly because you need a complete file to burn to CD. Since files don't always download 100%, the process of "downloading and burning on the fly" would have problems from the get-go and may end up in a waste of media. Usually files have to be downloaded to your hard disk, then burned to CD. Once the files ... (view more)

Have you ever "burned on the fly?" No -- I'm not talking about burning an insect with a magnifying glass like some of us did when we were younger (kids can be so cruel!) Burning on the fly is a technical term that essentially means writing directly ... to a CD recorder from another source other than your hard drive. Usually when a CD is burned, it is read from the hard drive and then written to the CD burner. The important thing to note here is that a hard drive can retrieve information must faster than any other source-medium of information. An example of burning on the fly might be ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Linda S. write s: " Dear Dennis, With regards to the last newsletter , is it possible that you are assuming that Christine R. accidentally stated that Windows Explorer was trying to access the internet and that she actually meant ... that Internet Explorer was trying to get access? My firewall also will not allow me to have access to the internet unless I give both Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer access. Her question may have been a typo but I think maybe she is having the same problem as I am. Can you offer any suggestions to remedy this? " My Response: I'm ... (view more)

Thinking about throwing out that old PC because it can't run the latest version of MS Windows? Hold your horses! In the last few newsletters, there has been much talk about upgrading an old Pentium-1 computer -- which paths to take, and why an ... upgrade may not be the best route. Recently, I received an email from an Infopackets Reader, Stu W., which mentioned a great alternative to upgrading an old PC. He writes: " I would personally NOT upgrade the hardware [of an old PC]. Instead, I would upgrade the operating system (OS) to something like Peanut Linux, Small Linux or even Corel Linux. ... (view more)

You must be wondering: why is the Infopackets Gazette being sent out on a Sunday? In short, I've decided to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. First of all, I'm going on a small vacation. So, I won't be here to send out the newsletter on ... Tuesday -- so that's why I've decided to send it out Sunday instead of Tuesday. Secondly, I received a lot of feedback regarding my Visitor Feedback suggestion to Judy W. in the last newsletter . Many of you wrote in and asked me if I was crazy for suggesting that she purchase a special adapter for her old and ailing Pentium-1 system instead of ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Christine R. write s: " Dear Dennis, I do not know a lot about Internet Explorer, so I wanted to know why is it that my firewall will not let me browse the Internet unless I give permission to Windows Explorer to access the Net? ... If I say "No" when permission is requested, it comes up 'unable to connect to that site', which leaves me with the only way to browse the site by clicking on "Yes." I have uninstalled and reinstalled the firewall and tried everything I know, but to no avail. So now I'm asking your opinion, as I am worried that if my Windows ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Judy W. asks, " Is there a way to upgrade my old Pentium-1 computer with a motherboard or a new processor chip? I really like this computer, but I need something faster so that I can use my digital camera. " My Response: It may be ... possible to get an adapter for your motherboard to make it run (at most) 500 MHz. Your CPU is most likely a Socket-7 type motherboard, so I'm pretty sure you can use this adapter: http://www.powerleap.com/Products/k6iii.htm I'd advise you get at least 128 meg of RAM with your upgrade -- but most likely you're using 72 pin SIMM RAM or ... (view more)

Do you trust Microsoft? Is Bill Gates the Antichrist? While a new computer user may not know a thing or two about Microsoft, its trustworthy practices, Bill Gates, and the Windows operating system -- the usual response from most experienced computer ... users is: "no way," and "yes!" I guess the first thing that comes to my mind regarding antitrust and Microsoft is the Netscape scandal: most people refer to it as the browser war . I suppose this antitrust scandal is most pertinent because of all the media attention it received at the time. It pretty much set the wave for other ... (view more)

Woops! It looks like Microsoft has goofed again. If you haven't been watching the news lately (maybe you don't get CNN?) -- Microsoft has released a security bulletin ( Q320920 ) regarding a critical flaw in Windows Media Player which can allow an ... attacker to gain unrestricted access to your system. Who is affected? Anyone who is using Windows Media Player version 6.4, 7.1 or Windows Media Player for Windows XP (version 8) should download a software patch to their system immediately. Side note: A software patch is piece of software that fixes a program (which is also software). In this case, ... (view more)