Dennis Faas

Synopsis: Say goodbye to big, clumsy attachments when emailing your photos! SendPhotos can easily insert digital photos and captions right into your emails -- eliminating the struggle with oversized files, cumbersome attachments, slow downloads, and ... frustrated friends who can't open your pictures. And now take those same fun photo emails you've designed and easily publish them online in your own personalized photo albums, or photoblogs. You can also upload your images so that friends and family can purchase 1-hour prints from their favorite local store with the simple click of a button! ... (view more)

" Dear Dennis, My PC with Windows XP is getting slower and slower. I need to do some spring cleaning and I think the best way is to reinstall the Operating System. My question is: how can I reinstall Windows XP with all the latest updates at the ... same time? You answered a similar question like this before, but didn't give any details or refer the reader to a location to get the information. I think this procedure is called 'Slipstreaming'. Thanks. " My response: Just to recap: slipstreaming means to integrate the latest Service Pack into the Windows installation CD. Service Packs are ... (view more)

Internet radio is a broadcasting service transmitted via the Internet. Not every internet "radio station" has a corresponding traditional radio station. Many internet radio stations are completely independent from traditional ("terrestrial") radio ... stations and broadcast only on the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as streaming. Because the radio signal is relayed over the Internet, it is possible to access the stations from anywhere in the world -- for example, to listen to an Australian radio station from Europe or America. This makes it a popular service for ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'theMick37' writes: " Dear Dennis, There is so much great info on your web site! Thanks for that. I was wondering if there is any programs (freeware preferred) that can record Internet radio [audio]? I have WinAmp and there are ... some great radio stations. I'd like to record the audio to my hard drive so I can listen to that same music later or in WinAmp later on. Thanks for any information you can provide. " My response: According to zdNet.com, "recording Internet radio still remains in legal limbo, and there's some precedent for it being legal, since you can ... (view more)

Synopsis: 3D MP3 Sound Recorder is an Audio Playback Recorder that is capable of recording sounds that eminate from your sound card, microphone, line-in ports, and any other sound sources. You can use 3D MP3 Sound Recorder to grab any sound bite ... including: Internet streaming broadcasts, music, CD, DVD, tape, dialogues from movies, game sounds, and much more! Captured sounds can be saved directly into WAV or MP3 format using real-time conversion (without creating temporary files). The program offers direct support for RealPlayer, Winamp, Windows Media Player, Power DVD, Flash, Quick time and ... (view more)

A sound card is a computer expansion card that can input and output sound under program control. Most personal computers today have sound cards built onto the main board and do not require a secondary / separate sound card. Sound Cards: General ... Characteristics A typical sound card includes a sound chip usually featuring a digital-to-analog converter that converts recorded or generated digital waveforms of sound into an analog format. This signal is led to a (earphone-type) connector where a cable to an amplifier or similar sound destination can be plugged in. More advanced designs usually ... (view more)

Synopsis: Looking for a light-weight, feature-packed, and easy-to-understand audio editor? Look no further -- Antechnius Audio Editor is the perfect solution for all your sound recording, editing, and audio processing! With Antechnius' simple to use ... point-and-click editing technology, you can: cut, combine, copy, paste, record, mix, insert, plus do amazing things to your sound bites with 29 amazing sound effects! And best of all: you don't have to be a rocket scientist to use this audio editor because everything is explained in simple to understand English! Antechinus Audio Editor: ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Trevor V. writes: " Dear Dennis, My computer includes an integrated sound card built onto the main board. In your opinion, would it be worth my time to add a dedicated sound card such as 'Creative SoundBlaster Live!' to increase ... sound quality and CPU performance? What do you think? " My response: Generally speaking: most dedicated soundcards will almost always perform better (both CPU wise and sound quality wise) because there is more hardware devoted for the task at hand (I.E.: producing sound). Comparably: a dedicated sound card has many chips and transistors to ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Faskia' writes: " Dear Dennis, One of my PCs is now failing to connect to the Internet, and is showing a Security Warning screen on a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). The blue background reads, 'A fatal error in IE has occured at ... 0028.C0011E36 in VXD VMM(01)+00010E36. Error was caused by Trojan-Spy.HTML.Smitfraud.c.' Would you please give me some simple steps to remove Smitfraud from my PC? " My response: The problem is that your computer has been infected with Spyware. According to the F-Secure web site, Trojan-Spy.HTML.Smithfraud.c is a phishing scam where "a ... (view more)

Spyware is a broad category of malicious software intended to intercept or take partial control of a computer's operation without the user's informed consent. While the term taken literally suggests software that surreptitiously monitors the user, ... it has come to refer more broadly to software that subverts the computer's operation for the benefit of a third party. Spyware differs from viruses and worms in that it does not usually self-replicate. Like many recent viruses, spyware is designed to exploit infected computers for commercial gain. Typical tactics furthering this goal include ... (view more)