Hewie's Views and Reviews
By Hewie Poplock

Welcome to this issue of Hewie's Views & Reviews. Be sure to visit Hewie's Favorites at http://www.hewie.net/ . Hewie's Quick Thoughts appear almost daily at http://www.hewie.net/weblog/ .

In this issue :

++++ Active Words
++++ Responses still coming in
++++ Not enough SPAM?
++++ New Toy
++++ New additions to Hewie's Favorites

October, 2003

++++ Active Words
I have added a review of Active Words to the Review section of Hewie's Favorites. Read it at http://www.hewie.net/views/aw.html . Active Words is one of those utilities that you don't know you need until you start using it. Once you start using it, you will not know how you got along without it. It's a big time saver. Download it at http://www.activewords.com and try it free for 60 days.

++++ Responses still coming in
Did you know that you can revisit any of my past newsletters? The current newsletter is always at http://www.hewie.net/views/current.html and you can get to the archives from there. I started this newsletter in 2000 and enjoy sending them to you. If you enjoy "Hewie's Favorites", please forward it to a friend once and tell them that they should subscribe. In the September issue, I asked for responses to my comments on SPAM. If you are going to respond, do it soon. I will share some of the responses in the next issue. Can't find that issue? Go to http://www.hewie.net/views/20030829.html and read the "Controlling E-Mail " article.

++++ Not enough SPAM?
If you don't get enough SPAM, take a look at the Spam of the Day website for their pick http://spamid.servebeer.com:8081/servlet/spamoftheday . Some may be offensive, so have an open mind or don't go there. I urge you not to go to any of the sites by clicking on their choice. If you do, you may be added to more lists and there is no assurance that the advertised items are valid, real, or not a scam. I only mention this as entertainment.

++++ New Toy
I mentioned and listed some of the "deals" sites in the last issue. One of the office supply stores had a special on a Lexar Media JumpDrive(TM), Portable USB Storage device, similar to one used by one of my students. With the instant rebate, mail-in rebate and free delivery, the 256MB Pro 2.0 model arrived the day after I purchased it for $50.

A 256 MB JumpDrive stores four CD's worth of MP3 music, or 176 floppy disks of data, or over 200 high resolution digital photos. It is barely larger than a key and plugs into a USB port. If the computer has Windows98SE or MacOS8.6, a driver has to be loaded for the JumpDrive to work. Any computer with WindowsME (or MacOS9.0) or later with a USB port will instantly see it as a new drive letter and files can be copied, saved, or opened from the drive. The model 2.0 that I have will utilize the super fast speed of USB 2.0 if available or work with the older USB. Remember that all models do not use USB 2.0, but should run on any USB port.

I have run large PowerPoint presentations from the unit with no problems. It's a great way to carry around the files that you need or want to move from home to work or to school and are too big for floppy disks. There are other sizes and brands available. I have seen the 64MB units on sale with rebates for as little as 10 dollars. See the Lexar Media units at http://www.lexarmedia.com/jumpdrive/index.html .

++++ New additions to Hewie's Favorites

Disposable email for a single usage
http://jetable.org/
E-mail address will be generated and point to your real address for the time that you choose

Beginners Guide to Firewalls and Internet Security
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1450
PCStats.com published basic guidelines for securing your computer and a better understanding of how some of the technologies work

PC Hardware Explained
http://ww.domaindlx.com/vsubhash/pchardware.asp
Easy understanding of PC hardware

W3Schools Online Web Tutorials
http://www.w3schools.com/
Quick and easy learning where you can study everything you need to learn for web development, in an accessible and handy format

Web Classroom
~http://www.minot.com/~tom/
Some great educational sites and info at this site

CSS Creator
http://www.csscreator.com/
CSS forum and Live Cascading Style Sheet generator, choose styles see how they will effect your web site

WebDesignHelper
http://www.webdesignhelper.co.uk/
Web Templates, Vertical & Horizontal Menus and Flash. Tutorials, Graphics and a number of other useful items that can be used to create a complete Web site

Educational Sites
~http://www.minot.com/~tom/EducationalSites.html
Great list of links for educators and instructors

How Everyday Things Are Made
http://manufacturing.stanford.edu/
Alliance for Innovative Manufacturing helps explain how many everyday things are made

Practical Guide to GPS - UTM
http://www.dbartlett.com/
Instruction manual addressing many key elements of GPS units

whichbook.net
http://www.whichbook.net/index.jsp
Discover books tailored to individual preferences - gives readers an enjoyable and intuitive way to find books

Famous Recipes
http://www.worldfamousrecipes.com/
Enormous collection of recipes. Site has many mailing lists too

Greg's Web Site
http://homepage.mac.com/gapodaca/index.html
Wonders of digital retouching shown by extensive examples and some good photo retouching tutorials

Clockwatchers HTML Tutorial
http://www.clockwatchers.com/html_main.html
HTML Guide to help beginners and give them a place to start

xwhois
http://xwhois.com/
Enter a Domain Name to Obtain the Whois Records. Whois and root server check

Spyware Guide Database
http://www.spywareguide.com/index.php
Offers searchable database of known spyware and adware.strength privacy protection. SpywareGuide also offers a unique blocking technology using ActiveX killbit technique.

Registry
http://www.codeproject.com/useritems/registry1.asp
All you wanted to know about the Windows Registry

Windows XP Tips & Tricks
http://ww.domaindlx.com/vsubhash/winxptips.asp
Collection of tips and tricks improve PC performance in Windows XP