Letters to PC World

Those PC Annoyances

I thoroughly enjoyed Steve Bass's article ["How to Fix the Biggest PC Annoyances," October]. So often I see users (myself included) who deal with these things as a necessary evil and lose productivity rather than fixing them.

Chris Cain, via the Internet

Thank you, thank you! You just saved me the cost of a new cooling fan for my expensive graphics card. The fan was making such a racket that I was thinking of purchasing a whole new card. The tip on how to lubricate the fan did the trick! It's now as quiet as when it was new.

Jo Anne Lambert, Mantoloking, New Jersey

The October cover story is a terrible article. In my opinion, a more appropriate title would have been "Steve Bass's Preferred Windows Settings," because much of what was addressed is a matter of personal preference, not "broken" things within Windows.

John King, Waterloo, New York

Your solutions to common Windows annoyances were terrific; however, in Windows, three or more approaches to a task often exist. Take, for example, the annoyance of automatically created hyperlinks when you type URLs or e-mail addresses in Word or WordPerfect.

My fix: Sometimes you want to keep the hyperlink and sometimes you want to delete it. Simply press Ctrl-Z or click Undo to reverse the change to a hyperlink, leaving you with the text you typed.

And the online version of the article ("More Annoyances: Cramped IE Windows") asks: "Who decided that Internet Explorer's new browser windows should open to the same small size, even though I always maximize the windows before I close them? You'd think the program would remember and open the new window in the same state as the last one I closed."

My fix: Size the Internet Explorer window as you want it--even at its maximum. Hold down Shift and close the window (click the X at the far right of the Title bar). Now every time IE opens, the window will be at that size.

Curt Coover, via the Internet

Editor's note: Many readers proposed alternate solutions to the "Dialog-Box Dilemmas" item, which recommended a $20 utility. Steve Bass will discuss these suggestions in his December 18 online newsletter (go to PC World newsletters to sign up).

Quicken 2003--No, Thanks

In his review of Quicken 2003 [New Products, October], Mike Hogan states its changes "aren't always for the better." He should have been firmer in warning your readers. Some of my aggravations:

• I do not want Quicken's credit card, brokerage, or bill-paying service, or to be reminded of them every minute by icons or advertising on the interface.
  
  
• Quicken 2003 would not upgrade my portfolio. In trying to make it do so, I inadvertently transferred all of my investment information to Quicken.com--not where I wish to see it.
  
  

Roland A. Frechette, via the Internet

Cautions on Home Nets

I enjoyed the "Home Net Hassles" article in the October issue [News and Trends]. Besides the tips you mention, hard experience has taught me the following:

1. Mixing equipment from different manufacturers in a network is not a good idea because of compatibility issues.
   
   
2. There are many ways the signal can be disrupted. Newer cordless telephones, microwave ovens, cell phones, and even faulty light switches throw out RF in the 802.11b-designated spectrum.
   
   
3. Don't tarry on returns. If you don't return an item within the designated period, you could be charged a restocking fee, or the store could refuse a return outright.
   
   

Warren B. Carah, Brighton, Michigan

Patches Bearing Gifts

Following your advice [Bugs and Fixes, October], I installed the patches for the "dangerous holes" in Word and Excel (Microsoft Security Bulletin MS02-031) in my Windows XP machine. But I was highly irritated when I used Word and found I had to once again accept a lengthy End User License Agreement or apparently lose all rights to a legally purchased product. And new clauses in this EULA seem to give Microsoft automatic rights to download software to my computer. Maybe I should have taken my chances with the holes.

R. C. Oliver, via the Internet

ACT 6's Missing Feature

Your review of ACT 6 [New Products, October] failed to mention that the mapping feature--where the user can automatically insert a contact's address into the Yahoo Maps Web site to get a map of the location or driving directions--has been deleted from the current version. Until I missed it, I did not know that dropping such a small feature could cause such frustrating disruption to an otherwise excellent program.

Phil Hansen, via the Internet

Who Wants a Swiss Army Knife?

The device described in the online article "Cell Phones Wed Digital Cameras" is another entry in the growing plethora of new electronic gadgets of questionable usefulness. Why not add a can opener, a corkscrew, and even a metal toothpick? Maybe a built-in paper shredder will be next. And what do we have then? An electronic version of the Swiss Army knife!

J. M. Davidson, Glendale, Arizona

Tangled in Wires

I thoroughly enjoyed October's Full Disclosure on the wiring needed to set up PCs. Nearly every peripheral requires two cables, one to communicate with the PC and the other to power the device, and I usually need two plug strips.

The communicators on Star Trek provide the best example of a wireless environment. Everyone can talk to everyone else--and the computer--by tapping their badges. Until we get to that point, the cable industry will live long and prosper.

Jason McMahon, Dolgeville, New York

Identity Theft

"Don't Let Them Steal Your Good Name" [Consumer Watch, October] sounded like verbiage from a bank's PR department. Consider that after the victim, Michelle Brown, issued fraud alerts, for a year and a half merchants, banks, and a physician continued to let the criminal make purchases. The banks were clearly negligent here, as was the state DMV that issued the criminal a duplicate driver's license in Brown's name. [Go to www.privacyrights.org/victim.htm for details.]

As long as banks and merchants can put the onus on us, they are free to save money and be careless.

Harry Pottol, Sunnyvale, California