|
HOME TOPICS SEARCH ABOUT ME |
technofile Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983 Dr. Gizmo: Freebies and DSL, faxing and Win 98, Internet speedup, DVD hookupAugust 2, 2000 By Al Fasoldt Copyright ©2000, Al Fasoldt Copyright ©2000, The Syracuse Newspapers What can you tell me about FreeXDSL? It seems too good to be true. There must be some monetary catch for all the trouble that the service goes through to install DSL in you computer and home. FreeWWWeb has been bought out, and I'm trying to figure out what my next free internet service will be. FreeWWWeb had no advertising window. I'm wondering if FreeXDSL is the option I should go with. It may have an advertising window, but if it's many times faster than a normal dialup connection, I'm willing to deal with that. Hope to hear from you soon. -- S.W.M., Syracuse area. The doctor doesn't think of free DSL (high-speed telephone-based Internet service) as being too good to be true. He thinks it's too crazy to be true. The gimmick of getting a free high-speed account sounds enticing only if we are naïve enough to believe in goblins and talking frogs. A writer who tracks the Internet connection industry recently signed up for free DSL and got nothing but headaches. The service he subscribed to went belly-up shortly thereafter. There's nothing as certain as death and taxes, and nothing as elusive as a free lunch. Or free DSL. Could you tell me if Windows 98 has a fax program like Windows 95 had, and if not, is it possible to load the one from Windows 95? -- M118, via AOL. No, Windows 98 doesn't come with its own version of a fax program. But here's what the doctor orders if you want to install fax software under Windows 98, taken directly from a newsletter the doc's pal gets. (Unfortunately, he's been complacent and lost the original source, so he can't give credit where it's due.) Here are the instructions, changed slightly for clarity: On the Windows 98 CD, look in a folder called "tools." In that folder, look in one called "oldwin95." In that one look in a folder called "message." Then open a folder called "intl." You'll find three files. The Microsoft Fax installation program is AWFAX.EXE. You will also find a Windows Messaging installer, WMS.EXE. This is only provided in case you need a MAPI Client, which includes, but is not limited to, Microsoft Exchange, Windows Messaging, Microsoft Exchange Server Client and Microsoft Outlook. The MAPI Client must be installed before Microsoft Fax is installed. The text you'll find, called WMS-FAX.TXT, explains this for you. Other than deleting temporary files, which I do every so often, should I delete any other file types such as cookies to increase my Internet speed? -- D.N., via Juno Windows users, listen up! Deleting temp files in the Windows "temp" folder won't speed up your Internet connection. Deleting files in the Internet cache (usually called "Temporary Internet Files" won't either. But letting your browser handle the browser cache DOES speed things up because it knows which files are useless and which ones are not. So take the doctor's advice and leave the browser cache files alone. The doc's pal explained this in detail. Read his article at http://twcny.rr.com/technofile/texts/bit031499.html. I've been thinking of buying a DVD player, now that the prices have come down. I noticed in the store that they don't have the coaxial connectors, such as connects my VCR to the TV. Can the DVD be run through the VCR's RCA jacks? If not, what then? -- E.B. Via Dreamscape There are two kinds of connectors for DVD players, RCA jacks and S-Video jacks. Use the S-Video when possible, because the picture quality is better -- but your TV needs that kind of connection, too, of course. Dr. Gizmo watches DVD movies on Al Fasoldt's main PC. You can send a copy of "West Side Story" or just a note to either of them at Technology, Box 4915, Syracuse, NY 13221, or send e-mail to afasoldt@twcny.rr.com |