Let's get some more letters out of the way before we head on to some product reviews next week.
Question: I really enjoy your column. My son was telling me about a modem you can install that alerts you if you have an incoming telephone call. Can you tell me something about this? He has a friend who has one. I have voice mail right now, but it would really save me money if I had something like this, at a one-time price, instead of a monthly bill.
Answer: There are several modems offering "call-waiting" ability on the market. The new modem protocol, called "v.92," has this as a standard feature, but your Internet Service Provider also has to install stuff on its end of the pipe, and many won't be doing that any time soon.
In the meantime, check out modems from ActionTec, Zoom and 3Com that offer "call-waiting" as part of the feature set. I have not tested any yet, but early reports are favorable.
There also are some software products that claim to offer this functionality. I would avoid any that require a monthly fee. Type "modem call-waiting" into a search box at www.google.com and you will learn more than you want to know.
Before you shell out a lot of money, investigate a bare-bones second phone line or even broadband connections. A cable modem connection may be cheaper in the long run.
Question: In a previous column you discussed the problem people have with the lack of an Instant Messaging standard. While I am certain that someone somewhere is working on that standard, there is a great alternative to waiting. Use Trillian. This program handles multiple IM systems under one interface. You can simultaneously be chatting with your friends on Yahoo!, AIM, ICQ, etc. The last time I used it, the client seemed to be fairly stable and reliable, simple to set up, and it allowed me to merge my contact lists into one global list. Just thought you might like to know that there are other options out there that allow you to get around having to download and run multiple IM clients.
Answer: Thanks for the note. I knew about Trillian and had tried it a while back and dropped it as too complex for most users to set up. I tried it again and you're right; it is easier to use and set up. However, until we have a standard this is the sort of middleware that serves a purpose for a while.
Question: In your recent article about losing time in Windows due to an older version of Norton Anti-Virus: I have had similar problems but also have to correct you on something. NAV could have stalled the clock to lose an amount of time but also if the people are "newcomers," as they said they were, I would be tempted to say they bought a brand new computer with Windows XP preinstalled. New computers with Windows XP come pre-set to time-synchronize with Microsoft's servers. But Microsoft had a bug in the OS after shipment which did this and perhaps allowed users to believe that their system clock was perfect, but much to their disappointment it wasn't . . . it could have been a few hours off.
Answer: Good point, though the people who wrote me were exactly one hour off, which tends to point to the Norton issue. But if XP users have not installed all of the product updates, they could be suffering from this bug. To update your copy of Windows XP, go online and hit START, ALL PROGRAMS, then WINDOWS UPDATE. Hit Scan for Updates. Then download and install everything in the "Critical updates" section. That will fix this bug. For details about this, head to www.pcworld.com and type "time warped" in the search box.
Question: I have a Dell computer at home. My children play a lot of computer games on this computer. It is about 1 1/2 years old. Once in a while, if the kids have been playing a game, I cannot get into Microsoft Explorer to look at all my files. I then have to shut down and restart the computer. Do you suggest getting another computer for the kids to just play games on? I paid a fairly good amount of money for this computer — $2,300. I don't want them to ruin it. Help!
Answer: You can get the kids a cheapy for about $500 or invest in a copy of Windows XP ($99). This operating system can easily divide your PC into sections. The kids will log in as themselves, and you can have your own private area they can't touch. It's simple to use and the most powerful thing about XP.
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James Derk is new media editor for The Evansville Courier & Press. His e-mail address is jderk@evansville.net