Dennis Faas

Recall -- Last week , Infopackets Reader Paul H. had problems accessing his Kodak camera after upgrading to the latest revision of Kodak Easy Share camera software. Paul wrote: " I have a Kodak DX3600 camera equipped with a 'docking' unit. I ... upgraded the camera software (from version 1.2 to latest revision), but can no longer transfer pictures from my camera to the computer (I am using Windows 2000, by the way) ... Are you aware of any fixes, or should I just use this thing for a fishing weight? " In my response, I suggested that Paul upgrade his USB driver in hopes of resolving the ... (view more)

I'm swamped this time of year, and so is my inbox -- full of spam (unsolicited email) offers, that is. RE: the ultimate free anti-spam solution? I recently stumbled across a web site that offers a free, seamless anti-spam solution: all without the ... need to install special, third-party software or to configure complex mail filter rules. Because there the client computer does not require a software integration, this makes 0Spam platform independent and perfect for home or corporate use, whether it's for a Linux, Mac, or Windows machine. From the 0Spam.com web site: " 0Spam works with POP3 ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Richard G. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thank you for your newsletter, as it helps a 'silver surfer' like me to get by with the day-to-day computing tasks. My problem is that Bargain Buddy has somehow managed to find its way onto my ... computer and now I've got advertising PopUps coming out the wahoo. Worse yet, I can't seem to remove / uninstall it successfully from my system. I have tried all sorts of downloads that say they can remove the bugger, but when I do another Spyware scan, the darn thing is still there! Any help will be greatly appreciated and I am pretty sure I'm ... (view more)

Recall -- Yesterday , Infopackets Reader Bill 'Mr Full Service' asked if there was a way to search for text inside of multiple documents (stored in multiple areas) on his computer: " I have a question for you about bookmark managers, or similar ... software. Do you know of any program that can search MS Word documents on your computer for web links (URLs) [or any text, for that matter]? Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated! " In my response , I suggested Bill use the built-in Search function in Windows XP, which has the capability to locate certain text in document files. I ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Paul H. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have a Kodak DX3600 camera equipped with a 'docking' unit. I upgraded the camera software (from version 1.2 to latest revision), but can no longer transfer pictures from my camera to the computer ... (I am using Windows 2000, by the way). To resolve this dilemma, I sought a local computer 'expert' to contemplate my problem, but he could not produce a solution. I have done everything that Kodak has suggested over at their web site with no luck. I am one of several people in my area who has the same problem with their Kodak software. Are you ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Bill 'Mr Full Service' writes: " Dear Dennis, Great newsletter! I've enjoyed it for a couple years now. I have a question for you about bookmark managers, or similar software. Do you know of any program that can search MS Word ... documents on your computer for web links (URLs)? Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated! " My response: If you own Windows XP, you can search for text in documents by using an advanced option in the Search dialogue menu. To do so, click Start -> Search -> Files / Folders -> Documents -> use Advanced search options - ... (view more)

I can't imaging what my life would be like if I didn't know how to program in PERL. Side note: PERL stands for Practical Extraction and Reporting Language, and is a robust programming language frequently used for creating programs that run on web ... servers. (Source: wmo.ch ) Perl's elaborate support for regular expression matching and substitution has made it the language of choice for tasks involving string manipulation. The language's highly flexible syntax and concise regular expression operators, make densely written PERL code indecipherable to the uninitiated. The syntax is, however, ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Kathy O. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am getting ready to build a new computer and plan to put Windows XP Home Edition with XP Service Pack 1, although I have already ordered the XP Service Pack 2 CD from Microsoft. As it stands now, ... I will be running both computers from my LinkSys router; however, I was told by a friend that I would need to turn off Windows XP's firewall from the Control Panel after I install Service Pack 2. Is this true? And also, is it necessary to apply XP Service Pack 2 since my router acts like a firewall? If so, should I disable the Windows Firewall ... (view more)

Recall -- A few days ago, Infopackets Reader Ted B. asked if there was a way to connect 2 wireless PCs [one using Win98, the other WinXP] together without using a router as a Wireless Access Pointer (WAP). He wrote: " ... An elderly lady recently ... came into the shop and needed help with wireless networking (802.11) between her older Hewlett Packard computer (running Windows 98SE) and her XP notebook. Unfortunately, we could not get the connections working. She had opted for a wireless network because she did not want to run a long cord from her bedroom to her living room to connect the ... (view more)

I'm stoked. For the last 3 months, I've been nibbling away at a special web script (project) that reformats all the previous Infopackets newsletters into a simple, clean layout. Why all the excitement? There are a lot of great things to come now ... that this daunting task is nearing completion. With article layout standardized, I can now move forward with: a) splitting articles into separate pages: it is important to split the articles so that potential web visitors can locate our web site through search engines (such as Google). As it stands now, 95% of all traffic to our web site is from our ... (view more)