In March, Mike Bruzzone from IDT-Centaur Technologies came to our general meeting and gave us a slide show on the WinChip C6 CPU. This was very interesting but I kept wondering how it would really work in my computer. Well, I was given the opportunity to find out when I received a VA-502 motherboard and a WinChip C6 CPU to review. I had a 486-66 system that worked faultlessly. I was wondering if I should really mess with my computer or not. I decided to go for it. This meant I had to buy a new video card and new memory. I cannot talk about the CPU only. All the hardware and software work together as a team. I bought 32BM of SDRAM memory. This fits in the 168 pin sockets. This memory is supposed to be faster then the 72 pin EDO memory. The VA-502 motherboard does not recommend mixing 72 pin and 168 pin memory. This is a small downside of the board. While I am talking about the motherboard, I want to point out another area that can be a problem. The longest PCI board that can be plugged in is 6 3/4". This is ony in one slot. I was lucky to be able to plug in my video card. The other slots will accept cards about 6 1/4" long. The ISA slots have the same problem. You can only plug in one card longer then 6 1/4". I used this slot for the modem card. So, going to a new motherboard and using some of your existing hardware cards, you need to check the length of the cards to see if you will be able to transfer them. The same is true if you are buying new hardware cards.

At our March hardware SIG, Carl Warner showed us how a Trident video card can output the computer signal to a TV. This looked like a nice thing to have. So I bought a Trident video card., as did a number of other club members. We found out that the cards are made by different manufactures using the Trident chipset. My card was made in China. Carl's was made in the USA. The Video card has 4 MB of memory and works OK as a video card with my monitor which is 6 years old and cannot handle the higher resolutions. Two MB of memory is all that I can use at this time. The software that came with the card is over a year old. I have not found a internet site that has newer drivers. Trident does not seem to have a web site. I feel that I made a mistake buying this video card. I did not do my homework.

Ok, so I took my system apart and put in the new motherboard. It did not line up perfectly in my old case but it was easy to work around this. I plugged in all the cards and connected the cables. I started it up and got nothing. After going through a troubleshooting session with Carl Warner, it was on line. There were a couple of items that seemed incorrect but the biggest mistake was having the cable from the CD-ROM drive plug in so pin one was in the wrong place. So here is the outcome. Everything I have on my machine seems to work fine. I do most of my work with DOS programs. The new setup runs faster. This is due to a couple of things. Rich Bulow gave us all sorts of timing stats in the February GSBUG Report. I am not going over that same ground. Starting the machine at the C: prompt used to take 27 seconds. It now takes 27 seconds - no change. Starting windows 3.1 went from 12 seconds to 6 seconds . AOL loads in 8 seconds compared to 26 seconds. In DOS, Procomm went from 4 seconds to 1 second to load. Everything works faster in DOS. The increase in speed is due to the fact that my hard drive is now operating under mode 4. My old setup did not support this. I now have faster data transfer, more memory and a faster CPU. The biggest improvement I saw was in Print Artist Version. 4.0. It was so slow on the old setup that I did not like to use it at all. It works great now. So good that I am willing to sell my 486-66 hardware. Interested? Call. I cannot give you comparisons between other 200 MHz CPUs using the same hardware, but I can tell you that I am happy with the WinChip C-6 running the software on my machine. Any questions about my setup can be sent by Email to: rsh532@aol.com

Many of us save newsgroup and e-mail messages. Saving them individually may waste more space than you can spare. On a 2GB hard drive, 32KB is used for each item saved whether you save 500 bytes or 32KB. Perhaps you would like to combine related messages.

A dozen messages combined in one file may use only the disk space needed for one message. Twelve messages saved individually use at least 393KB on a typical 2GB hard drive. They could be combined to use only 32KB unless some are very large.

Microsoft has no way to combine more than one e-mail message or newsgroup message in a single file. Through experimentation, I discovered ways to save multiple messages in a single file.

These methods work in Outlook Express (OE) - the one that came with Internet Explorer 4 (IE4). The same general methods will probably work in other browsers.

The general method will be discussed first; details of key strokes or mouse selections will be given later.

Open OE and go to the e-mail message list. Select (highlight) messages you want to put in one file. Choose Forward as though you planned to send those messages to another person. Each of the messages selected will be shown as an attachment to the message you are NOT going to send. Save this message under any name and folder you want -- let the suggested eml extension be used. Open it in Explorer, OE will take over and show a blank message with attachments. Choose an attachment to read. Press Esc and choose another if you wish.

One way to save several newsgroup messages in one file is exactly the same as for e-mail except you have to be in a newsgroup to select the files. Another way is to pretend the files were a long message encoded and split into parts. See"Use Combine and Decode" later in this article.

Start OE. Go to the message list in e-mail or in a newsgroup. Highlight the desired messages by holding down Control while you click on them with the mouse. Or hold down Control and use the up and down arrows to select a message; press Spacebar to highlight it.

When finished selecting messages, choose Compose then Forward. Or use the keyboard: Alt+C, F. Or simply use Control+F which is faster and simpler.

A screen will appear offering to let you fill in several things. Ignore it. Use the mouse to choose File then Save As. . . Or press Alt+F then A.

Enter a name for your file. Allow it to use the eml extension. Press Enter. You may choose a folder as well as the file name if you wish. To do that, type \foldername\filename and press Enter. The eml extension is automatically added.

When you want to read those messages, use Windows Explorer to open the file. OE will show it as an empty message with several attachments. Double click on any attachment to read it. Press escape to leave that message. Choose another message to view if you wish or press escape again to quit viewing that "multiple" message.

1. Rename the file to have a TXT extension; you can read it with any text editor or word processor. There will be a lot of garbage from the old headers. Ignore them or edit them out.

2. Hold down Control and Right-Click on the file. Choose Open With and choose an editor.

3. Choose Start, Run then enter the name of an editor followed by the file name. Use folder name if necessary. For example: Notepad \folder\file.eml.

This option is offered only in the news section. I believe it should have been included in the e-mail section of OE.

I have received divided files by e-mail several times. One was divided into 23 messages of 62KB each. Uuencode joined them and translated the code into a zip file. From there, of course, Pkunzip separated and expanded the included files.

Highlight the desired newsgroup messages by holding down Control and clicking on them. From the menu, choose Tools, then Combine and Decode, or press Alt+T then C. You will be offered a chance to rearrange the message order. Do it if you want to. Press Enter.

The combined messages will open in a window. Choose File then Save As, or Alt+F, A. Enter a name -- include a folder if needed -- and press Enter. Messages combined by the Combine and Decode method will have the nws extension. So will news messages saved individually.

Still another way to save more than one message in a single file is to cut and paste. For example, Open an empty file with Notepad or other editor. Leave it open and start OE. When you read a message you want to save, press Control+A then Control+C. Use Alt+Tab to switch to Notepad. Press Control+V. Move the cursor at least one blank line below that message. Use Alt+Tab to return to messages and find another. Repeat the process as needed.

If you want only a portion of a message, use the mouse or cursor keys to highlight that part. Omit Control+A; otherwise, use the same keys as above to copy it into the file in Notepad. Saving part of a message is useful where much of it is advertising or a repeat of other messages.

Make a folder. Name it Msgtemp. Save the desired messages in the Msgtemp folder. Let them keep the eml or nws extension.

Messages saved individually from news will have the nws extension. In that case change the *.eml below to *.nws.

From the DOS command line, go to the Msgtemp folder. At the command line type: Copy *.eml filename.txt

Del *.eml

Press the Enter key at the end of each line. Use any filename you like but do NOT use the eml extension. It may be best to move the resulting file to another folder. That will reduce the danger of accidental deletion.

If you have previously saved messages, move those you want to combine to the Msgtemp folder. Follow the procedure above.

Notes:

The files created using the Forward option will have one header for each original message plus another for the new combined file. Files created by the Combine and Decode method will lose the various message headers including the subject line. On occasion this will make it difficult to tell what the message was about. Also, there may be no space between the last line of one message and the first line of the next.

As the name implies, the makers of ipublish want to put you, the publisher, in charge. You can select from 11 document types: reports, correspondence, newsletters, fliers, catalogs, brochures, blanks, cover pages, onscreen presentations, web pages, and more documents. Each of these types contain sample templates, so you have many options from which to choose. Simplicity of use and freedom to choose are built in. In fact, since all graphics and text areas have been designed as separate components, you may fill and manipulate them individually within coordinated layouts. If you desire, a customizing feature allows you to create more freely.

From my own experience with graphics-based programs like Corel, Print Artist, and PageMaker, I was used to spending a lot of time editing, resizing, placing and rearranging images and text. Even using WordPerfect’s simple, customized lines and borders or its text boxes, shapes, and fills can be quite time consuming, especially when anything is added after a first draft has been made. ipublish is different. It automatically rearranges text and image boxes to make the best fit. Or, if that is not possible, it alerts you to change the layout. Layout options are numerous and using them is fast and easy.

To get a good idea of program as a whole, I created documents using most of the types provided. Some features really stood out For example, it was quite easy to import graphics. I imported images from other programs, from disks where I had saved them, from the Web, and off my Mustek scanner. ipublish recognizes many kinds of image and text files. I had no problem bringing WordPerfect files into ipublish. Of course, you may prefer to compose directly in your document while ipublish is open. I found that this requires getting used to since the window is much smaller. This brings me to another feature that is both a strength and weakness, the split screen. The left half of the screen is used for accessing, viewing, and choosing various working options, like templates. The screen's right half contains the updated work. The problem is trying to see each adequately. I found myself constantly resizing the right half of the screen to see clearly the detail in the document. Often I would have to zoom in on text portions because it showed so small in the full document. What was good was seeing in one screen all of the document at one time. I would recommend that for the most part, text and graphics be gathered, composed, and edited outside ipublish and then imported in. For pictures the program does have a decent cropping tool. It is very easy to use and does an adequate job.

Another item that deserves mentioning is the Publishing feature. Besides having the regular desktop printing capability, ipublish allows you to publish your document as an onscreen presentation or web page. Both are very pleasing to the eye and contain standard features like navigation arrows and linked pages. With the Web page tool, the program first creates an HTML version of your document so you can preview it on your computer. A home page is created and your information is split into logical Web pages. This is a very handy service, especially for a lot of people, like me, who not adept at using HTML.

So . . . If you are looking for a simple, easy to use desktop publishing program that will get you good looking results in a short time, ipublish is for you. Just be aware that the same things that speed up this program, like templates and coordinated layouts, will restrict the very creative designer. However, for the average person, who is often time frazzled or creatively challenged, this program will be a great help. It is certainly worth checking out.

Minimal requirements include: a 486 or faster processor, 16 MB RAM, Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0, 65 MB hard disk space, CD-ROM which is required for installation and Image Gallery, VGA display (SVGA 800x600 resolution, high color recommended), mouse or equivalent pointing device.

Installation of ipublish is fast and simple. The manual recommends that for the best connection to the Web and program interfacing you install the Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 that comes on their CD. I can't verify how important this is since I didn't have time to check it out. However, if you go

this route, be sure to install Explorer before you install ipublish. That way you'll avoid possible later conflicts. I used my Netscape Navigator 3.0 and had no problem capturing images off the net and bringing them into my ipublish documents.

Availability of ipublish 2.0 is limited to one store in San Antonio - Computer City. I called seven of the major retailers and they were the only one who had it. Computer City sells ipublish for $89.99. Another option is to go directly to the company, Design Intelligence, Inc., 1111 Third Avenue, Suite 1500, Seattle, WA 98101. They are offering the box version for $99.00 with a $25.00 mail-in rebate. Their phone number is 206-749-2860, or fax them at 206-389-8228. And, yes, you can download it off their Internet site, www,designintelligence.com. It will cost you $89.00 with the $25.00 mail-in rebate included, but you won't get a manual. That's $9.95 extra. Try the electronic version free for 30 days.

The box version comes with ipublish 2.0 on CD-ROM; Image Gallery containing over 1,000 free high-quality images, including photos, clip art, symbols, and maps; direct access to additional clip art from ipublishLive.com, an online publishing resource; free 30-day trial subscription to Art Today, a premier online gallery; over 40 professional-quality fonts; Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0; 30 days free access to SPRYNET Internet Access Service; printed ipublish handbook; comprehensive online Help and newly designed QuickStart tutorial.

Terry Flannery has taught English in San Antonio schools for 21 years. Presently, he is an adjunct faculty member at Palo Alto College. Also, he is owner of a small printing business specializing in foil print. He has worked with computers for about 15 years. His computer interests include text and graphics based programs. You can e-mail Terry at: terryflannery@juno.corn

How many members watched Alex Eckelberry show and tell about Mijenix programs, were impressed, but were not ready to purchase the programs? One of the programs was ZipMagic. He really did not get into it too much. I have a 120 day evaluation copy for you this month. The 57 page user guide is on a second disk in PDF format. This means you need a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader to view or print it. Acrobat Reader is free on many Adobe demo disks. You should have a copy of it on your machine. I'll have a couple copies at the meeting if you want to BORROW one. So what is ZipMagic. ZipMagic provides a revolutionary and easy way to handle Zip files under Windows and DOS. The innovative software program is the only Zip compression product that actually enhances the operating system, enabling novice to advanced users to handle Zip files without zipping or unzipping. ZipMagic works with Windows 95, and Windows 3.1. With ZipMagic there is no need for an external zipping/unzipping application, because compression and decompression are done automatically for you at the operating system level. There is no need to zip, because files can be compressed to a Zip file by simply using the normal copy command in your favorite DOS or Windows file management application. There is no need to unzip, because files inside a Zip file can be accessed and modified at will from any application. This is easy and helps to save precious disk space. You can run any program or game directly from within a Zip file. No need to decompress any file to a temporary location first. Most of this info is from Mijenix. I put it on the club computer and we used it at my last sig. Works good. You handle zip files like any other file. Pick a copy up and give it a try. I think you will like it.

While I was putting together the WinChip system I wanted to check the amount of memory on the video card. It was supposed to have 4 MB on it, but looking at the chips I could not tell what it had. I started to use some of the diagnostic programs I had to check out the system. I found out right away that the old programs were worthless. They never heard of what we are using today. I looked around and came up with two programs that are up to date. They each check differently. My system was checked best by Snooper. Syschk is the second program. I have them both on one disk for you. Snooper is a system information utility. It "snoops around" your computer to report its configuration and operating characteristics. You can use Snooper to keep an eye on your memory and disk usage. Snooper can help you when you are installing new peripherals or software by showing you what resources are already in use. It shows CPU/NDP, DOS, BIOS, memory, CD-ROM, disks, video, env, kbd, sound cards, ports, IDE model, CMOS, disk cache, Stacker, files and buffers, IRQs, DMA, modems, mice, port IRQs. It lets you edit CMOS, Config, and Autoexec. Network and benchmark screens, detects 1100 MCA cards, has Auto-Logging. Supports fast CPUs. Ideal for you! Ssychk is a program that provides valuable information about devices installed in your system. The following are some of the items Syschk will search for:

- Computer model type including manufacturer if known

- Microprocessor including the Intel Pentium(tm) and Cyrix

- Detection of the older Pentium that had a floating point bug

- Complete IRQ listing including usage and availability

- Math Coprocessor type

- Microsoft Windows setup information

- Detection of slave 8259 IRQ controller

- Presence of a real time clock

- Presence of a ISA, PCI, Micro Channel, or EISA bus

- System BIOS including source, date and size

- A listing of all known BIOS extensions in the system, and the size of those BIOS

- Type of keyboard attached (84 key or 101 key) and keyboard status

- Type of mouse installed, number of buttons, and IRQ used

- Number of parallel ports in system and the base addresses

- Number of serial ports in system, base addresses and parameters of the port including IRQ.

- Type of serial port UART chip including 16550

- Complete information on any network connection

- Hard disk size including tracks, heads, sectors and CMOS type

- Hard disk controller manufacturer

- Hard disk partition information

- SCSI and IDE detailed information

- Disk cache info including hits and misses

- Floppy disk size and parameters

- Video type, chipset, video memory, and BIOS source

- Maximum video resolution and maximum color capability

- Amount of environment space used and available

- Amount of conventional, extended, and expanded memory

- Listing of all resident programs both conventional and UMB, including size and location of those programs

- Listing of all non standard device drivers installed

- Throughput speed of system, taking into account CPU speed and wait states

- Video and hard disk speed

- Listing of all CMOS values

- Lots more!

Pick up a copy of these programs and have fun checking your system out!

Not to be outdone, Digital Equipment Corp (DEC) has upped the speed of its Alpha chip from 533 MHz to 600 MHz. The new Alpha chip, called the 21264 chip, will ship next quarter. By early 1999, a 700MHz version will be available. This will be followed shortly by a 1GHz version of the 21264, built on a 0.18 micron substrate, so IBM already has a challenger, and this one runs Windows NT.

But one must wonder if Compaq's recent acquisition of Digital will affect production of the new chips, or whether Compaq will even want to produce chips, putting it into competition with its largest supplier, Intel. I hope so; the Alpha is a real screamer that gives Intel a target to shoot for. Competition always makes things better for the consumer.

After the previous two announcements, a "mere" 333-MHz chip sounds kind of ho-hum, but there's a real difference: this chip is actually available. Already companies like Compaq, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and most other major builders are shipping machines with this chip.

The 333-MHz Pentium II is the first of Intel's Deschutes family, which uses a new manufacturing process with a .25 micron substrate. In practical terms, that means it uses less power and consequently generates less heat, a major problem with high-speed chips. The Deschutes designator refers only to the family of chips while they were in the design stage; the production chips will still be called Pentium IIs.

But the 333-MHz Pentium II shows only a slight gain in performance over slower Pentium IIs, largely due to its use of the ancient (in computer terms) 66-MHz bus, the speed of the motherboard. But coming soon (by rnid-year, actually) will be faster Deschutes chips that use a faster 100 MHz bus. Expected clock speeds of 350 MHz and later this year, 400 MHz, should raise the performance bar to significantly higher levels.

For those who find even the prospect of a 400 MHz Pentium II boring, how about something much faster? Intel will later this year introduce a new motherboard design, with a new connector, which it calls Slot 2. The current Slot 1 connector for Pentium IIs allows two chips per motherboard, and runs the Level 2 cache at half the processor speed, Slot 2 will allow four chips and run the Level 2 cache at full processor speed, which should dramatically increase the overall speed of the chip. But the price of a computer with four Pentium II chips will be stratospheric. And remember, even the current Windows NT Workstation operating system will only support two multiprocessing chips.

According to an article in the January 19, 1998 issue of Information Week, the US has 54.6 million Intemet users, followed by Japan, with 8.0 million users; the United Kingdom, with 5.8 million users; Canada, with 4.3 million users, and Germany, with 4.0 million users. And that's just the top five users. No wonder the Internet is so slow. But several companies want to fix that.

This technology uses standard telephone lines, but bypass voice switches in telephone offices. Capable of speeds of up to 8 MB/second, DSL has been hampered by a lack of standards. But now there's hope; Microsoft, Compaq, and Intel are pushing to develop standards that will permit DSL to become a viable contender. Oddly enough, telephone companies have been reluctant to participate in standards development. Perhaps they see this as a threat to their lucrative T- 1 and ISDN business, and they're right. Too bad, telco.

DSL would be "on" at all times, so all the time your computer is turned on, it would be connected to the Intemet. That would make Bill Gates' vision of the Internet as an extension of your desktop feasible. It could also be more dangerous if the "always-on" feature permitted someone to dial your computer while you were having lunch and do some dastardly deed. DSL also permits telephone voice calls while you are connected to the Internet, one of the nice features of having so much bandwidth.

Telephone company US West will start offering a variant of DSL called Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, or ADSL, this summer in areas it serves (not Texas, unfortunately). Slower than full DSL, US West will price the service according to speed. A 256 KHz line will start at $40 per month. Sounds great, but this could be a case of a company pressing ahead before standards are developed.

Symantec has struck a deal with Microsoft to let Outlook 98 include parts of their popular Winfax Pro technology to replace the somewhat awkward Microsoft Fax. The version in Outlook 98 will be called the Starter Edition, so you can upgrade to the full version later. And as anyone who uses WinFax Pro can tell you, it is a far superior fax manager. But companies who strike deals with Microsoft risk getting gobbled up.

Unfortunately computers, especially laptops, are easy to steal and resell. If you are thinking about buying a used computer, and want to verify that it's not stolen, visit the web site http://www.nacomex.com/smain1.html. This no-charge registry of serial numbers of stolen computers can tell you if your prospective computer is stolen.

Windows Draw 6, Premier Edition, Print Studio by Micrografx (long name) is a graphics publishing suite of programs. It consists of 4 programs: Windows Draw 6, Media Manager, PhotoMagic, and Instant 3D. It also comes with a Bonus CD called CreataCard Special Edition with cards from American Greetings.

The following is a list of Minimum System Requirements:

486DX or faster processor

Windows 95 or higher

8MB RAM

VGA w/256 colors

CD-ROM drive

Pointing Device (mouse)

55MB free hard drive space

When you first open the box you may become a little overwhelmed by the 4 CD's. One CD is for the applications and help, the second CD is for Content (all the wizards and some clipart), the third CD is 33,000 clipart images, and the fourth CD is the bonus CD - CreataCard. Now that's a lot of stuff!

Depending on the options chosen by the very straight-forward installation guide, you could use up to 120MB (approximately) of your hard drive. I chose the full installation and it took about a half-hour. I have a Pentium 200MMX with 64MB RAM and a 4 GB hard drive.

After the installation was done, I wanted to quickly jump right into the program and play around. I ran the Windows Draw 6 program first. Keeping in mind that I have a fairly fast computer, the load time is a little slow. (I can only imagine how slow it would be on a 486 system.) The performance of the program wasn't too bad. (It does have the Intel MMX logo on the box.)

I was quickly impressed with the amount of options for different projects you could quickly get started with. The Project Wizard basically speaks for itself.

There are several programs out on the market that have design wizards for printing projects. I have personally not seen one that has as many as this one. I must say, the ease-of-use of this program also sets it apart from the others. From the moment that you first run the program, you can actually use it without having to study anything. It has a very unique feature to guide and help you through any project. This feature is called the Visual Toolbar. This toolbar has step-by-step instructions on how to create any project as well as changing the project once you have finished with the wizard. I created a business card, birthday card, and a letterhead.. all in about 30 minutes!

And once you are done creating or changing your project, you can use the Output Wizard to print, send in an e-mail attachment, output as a web page, animated GIF, create wallpaper for your desktop, or save as another file type. The Output Wizard makes it SIMPLE for almost any user.

Now there is a difference if you were to compare this program with any of the high-end programs like CorelDraw or Adobe Photo Shop, etc. These programs are meant for the artist who needs lots of control and lots of tools and effects. I think even users of the high-end programs would be surprised (as I was) to see how many tools and effects this program has. The wizards and help give the appearance of a scaled down version of a graphics program.. but Windows Draw 6 is not scaled down at all. You can create any graphic you wish without using the wizards. Windows Draw 6 is a fully capable graphics program with one exception... it is very easy to use.

To compare this program with the other print programs (like PrintShop, PrintHouse, etc) would not be completely fair. Those other programs don't have the built-in "mother" program that all of the projects are created in. In this case the programs Windows Draw 6 and PhotoMagic are the "mother" programs that all of the projects are created in. The other programs only give you limited capability for creation. This suite of programs is also Office 97 compatible.

Have you ever had anyone ask you "Do you know of a program that I can use for my business that I can create a brochure, business card, letterhead, web page, etc.?" Or, "Do you know of a program that I can create things for my office like calendars, flow charts, etc.?" Or, how about, "Do you know of a graphics program that gives me professional results that is so easy to use that my child could learn it?"

These questions and more can be answered by recommending several programs. But only one program can answer them all... Windows Draw 6 Premier Edition, Print Studio! And after you see the price, you won't have any more questions. The SRP is $49.

Each drive was 2GB and formatted FATl6. We visited Power Quest's web site and learned that the Move program distributed with Partition Magic V3.0 will not work with OS/2 but not why, however, an alternate "Move" program is on their web page. They also say that the Boot Manager program will not work with OS/2, but PQBoot, another utility on the V3.0 CD, can be used instead.

We updated Partition Magic to V3.04 and downloaded the alternate "Move" program. After resizing, copying, deleting, and moving partitions, we ended with about 500 MB of free space reserved to become a formatted primary (hidden) partition for DOS games, C:, a lot of empty space, the extended partition with D:, F: and F. reduced to minimum size, and a copy of C: in case something broke.

We then used the CLUSTER option to reformat C: to FAT32. This entire process took about three hours, but would have gone faster if we had spent more time thinking. We tested the result and found no problems, but neither our tests or applications were very sophisticated.

We increased the size of C: to 4GB, formatted the DOS partition, and installed DOS and WFG 3.1, spooled the D:, E:, F: data to tape and cleaned the hard drive of them, experimented with PQBoot - not as pretty, but functional (only from DOS command prompt), and went for a cool one.

We saved room on the hard drive for a DATA partition (D: for either operating system) to be shared by both operating systems. We would like to have a common e-mail capability but don't know how to achieve it. We have no experience with NT, but expect we could have made the first partition NTFS the same way, and we will report failures as they come.

And it's free for the download - just pop on over to http://www.pccomputing. com and download Twofer. Full instructions for installing and customizing Twofer are in the March issue of PC Computing (out now in the USA). An early version of twofer.zip went out without the readme.txt file.

If you got the early one without the instructions, drop by http://www. pccomputing.com again and pick up the latest version (if it is not there when you download try again later).

A few people have struck a problem where Twofer can't find MSVBVM5.DLL. This is a Visual Basic 5 runtime file that is installed by a wide range of programs, including many from Microsoft itself (like IE4). Due to the DLL's size (MB) and relative ubiquity its not included with Twofer. You can get the required file from the WOPR 'Essential Software Updates' page http:// www.wopr.com/ if needed.

The search feature in this program was designed to be similar to search engines used on the Internet. Search for phrases, recipe titles, search one cookbook or search them all. The real impressive feature built into the recipe search tool is the More Options feature, which lets you narrow your search by specifying the amounts of calcium, calories, carbohydrates, cholesterol, total fat, saturated fat, fiber, protein and sodium in the recipe. For people with dietary concerns, this feature quickly analyses the nutritional value in the recipes and selects only recipes meeting your requirements.

Every cookbook I own has notes scribbled on the page of adjustments I've made either in amounts or ingredients. With this in mind the ability of the program to accept modifications to the recipes was important to me.

Deluxe Weight Watchers Light and Tasty has two important features which allow you to modify the recipes. The Edit Recipe feature allows you to change the recipe and save. The Scale Recipe feature eliminates the often-frustrating arithmetic associated with changing the number of servings the recipe will serve. The program is well designed to be used as a complete recipe file for all your own favorites. Create your own personal cookbooks within the program and add your own recipes. If you're a good cook you know that you're often asked for a copy of a recipe; this program eliminates the need to hand write the copy. When the request is made, simply open a copy of the recipe, and print or e-mail it at the touch of a button. Recipes can be printed on standard paper, 3" x 5" recipe cards or 4" x 6" recipe cards.

If you're a novice in the kitchen you will really appreciate the videos, charts, tips and glossary incorporated into the program. The video portion includes 125 short videos demonstrating techniques such as how to julienne carrots, ice cakes, sear meat. The glossary is incorporated into each recipe with hyperlink text for technical terms, spices, and specialized ingredients that makes understanding of the recipes for a novice chef easy.

Any chef knows that the secret to a successful meal is a well-planned menu. Weight Watchers has taken the guesswork out of selecting entrees that accompany each other well. The special menu planner provides daily menu plans for the whole year, special holiday theme menu plans, or dinner menus. The advantage of using the menu plans is that all guesswork as to time planning and shopping lists is taken care of for you. Holiday cooking can often be stressful for the novice and last minute details are often overlooked. I was amazed at the detail the program went into in their schedule planning even to the extent of reminding you to "iron the holiday tablecloth".

Incorporated into the Navigation buttons is a shopping list. Easily add all the ingredients of a recipe to your shopping list or select only the items you don't have in stock in your kitchen. The one feature I would have liked to see added to this program is the ability of the shopping list to combine quantities of two recipes requiring the same ingredients. Editing of the shopping list is possible to add your basic staples like toilet paper.

The program operates from the CD and requires 1MB available hard drive space. The minimum system requirements for this program are a 486DX2/66 with 8MB RAM although 16MB is recommended. Operation is possible on both Windows 3.1 and 95; a mouse, sound card and modem are also required for full operation of the program.

Try not to prejudge the recipes by thinking that with the title Weight Watchers® they will be boring. The recipes are not just for those trying to lose weight. This was not the program to review on an empty stomach; the pictures and recipes were enticing. The built in videos make it ideal for the new chef who doesn't understand cooking terms.

FTP stands for "File Transfer Protocol". Originally Unix based, FTP has been the choice protocol for moving files between one Internet site and another. Similar to other transfer types such as Zmodem and Xmodem, the program splits files into smaller packets and sends them across the connection in bursts. Originally, being a Unix product, it was fairly difficult to use because of the strict command line language that was required. As more PC users started to use the Internet, having a graphical interface seemed desirable. CuteFTP is such a product.

The graphical interface is almost totally "point and click" and "drag and drop" compliant, making it one of the easiest programs to learn. When you start the program, a dialog appears and prompts you to log onto an FTP site. After logging onto an FTP site, the interface is split it two pieces. One side is the local side (your machine) and the other is the remote side (the FTP site). To download files, you merely point to the file or directory of files that you want to transfer to your machine, hold down the left mouse button, and drag them over to the local side of the interface. CuteFTP does the rest.

Another great feature of CuteFTP is the ability to automate routine tasks, such as maintaining your own personal or corporate web site. After performing all of the tasks one time, CuteFTP "learns" and can then upload and update your web site with any changed files that you provide to it. This feature alone is worth the price of the program.

Other new features contained in version 2.0 are remote file editing and the ability to perform system based operations like "make a directory" or "delete a file" on the remote system. CuteFTP can also resume broken downloads automatically.

Overall, I give CuteFTP a full 4 stars for it ease of use, reliability and amount of options that are built into the package. Installation was basically automated, making it easy for even the newest of computer user to use.

A shareware version of CuteFTP is available from their web site at www.cuteftp.com. You can also register the program on their web site for $34.95. Bottom line.. If you use the Internet, get CuteFTP

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1. Home is where you hang your @

2. The E-mail of the species is more deadly than the mail.

3. A journey of a thousand sites begins with a single click.

4. You can't teach a new mouse old clicks.

5. Great groups from little icons grow.

6. Speak softly and carry a cellular phone.

7. C:\ is the root of all directories.

8. Don't put all your hypes in one home page.

9. Pentium wise; pen and paper foolish.

10. The modem is the message.

11. Too many clicks spoil the browse.

12. The geek shall inherit the earth.

13. A chat has nine lives.

14. Don't byte off more than you can view.

15. Fax is stranger than fiction.

16. What boots up must come down.

17. Windows will never cease.

18. In Gates we trust.

19. Virtual reality is its own reward.

20. Modulation in all things.

21. A user and his leisure time are soon parted.

22. There's no place like <http://www.home.com/>

23. Know what to expect before you connect.

24. Oh, what a tangled website we weave when first we practice.

25. Speed thrills.

26. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him to use the Net and he won't bother you for weeks.

While surfing the web this month, I was alerted to a site in Seattle that provides information on security, protection for your children on the web, and places to report cybercrime. It’s called cyberangels, and apparently they would like help. So maybe you can do a good deed if you have the time and inclination. Or you can bookmark it, so you can pass it on when someone asks for such a site. Check it out. They have links to Pretty Good Privacy, The Cyber Cops, etc.