Quiet please
The amount of noise my PC generates is really beginning to bug me. Part of the problem is that my work involves developing audio algorithms. Is there is an easy way to determine how noisy a new PC is likely to be? When Apple released the Cube, a big deal was made out of the fact that no internal cooling fans meant virtually silent operation, but I want to run Windows 2000. Chris Dunn
cdjob@hotmail.com
Jack Schofield replies: PCs are generally not built to a noise level and individual machines - indeed, individual components - may be too variable for this to be affordable. You can, of course, try to replace noisy components with quiet ones, as Tomas Risberg, from Sweden, has done. Details are on his Silent PC page at http://home.swipnet.se/tr/silence.html. QuietPC.com supplies parts such as new power supplies and ultra-quiet fans.
A simpler alternative would be to buy a notebook computer. However, notebooks are slower than desktops, cost more for a similar specification, and usually seem to have mediocre sound hardware.
Both the Cube and the iMac are quiet because neither has a cooling fan. However, Apple has stopped making Cubes because sales have been dismal, and some iMacs seem to generate a great deal of heat.
Read source
Do you know how to change the default editor used to View Source in Internet Explorer 5.0? I know about Tools|Options|Programs| HTML editor, but that doesn't affect the editor used for viewing the source code in web pages. It is very frustrating to be stuck with Notepad. Graham Madders
graham@m-magic.com
JS: I did not think it was possible, but it is: see www.godel.com/lila/html/ievse.htm
Not full
Is there a maximum number of files you can have on a floppy? I thought I had a hardware problem when I could not save files to a particular disk, but when I copied the files to another disk I got the same problem, and also when I tried another PC. Seamus O'Connell
seamus.oconnell@sevimara.demon.co.uk
JS: Many files will fit on a floppy, but they cannot all be in the root directory. There is only a limited amount of space for the file index, so the number varies according to how you name them. If all the filenames are in DOS format (eight capitals and a three letter extension) then I think you can get 224 on. If they are all Windows long filenames, the number falls to about 74. The solution: move some files into subdirectories.
Delisted
Microsoft's wonderful, free Listbot email list manager system is closing in a couple of weeks and re-launching as ListBuilder, a commercial service. We use Listbot daily to send industry news free to many thousands of people in the documentary film and television world. Do you know of any free or reasonably priced alternatives, preferably as much like Listbot as possible? John Marshall
john.marshall@docos.com
JS: The two rivals I usually recommend both appear to have vanished, but you could try Topica. At least it seems to want you. See www.topica.com/services/listbot.html
TV link
I have a new PC with a GeForce 3 card and DVD drive. The card does not have TV-out. Is it possible to fit a second (cheap?) card with TV-out to play DVD movies on my TV? Ronnie Hope
J46UAR@aol.com
JS: So many graphics cards have TV sockets nowadays there is not much of a market for different approaches. However, the Trust Televiewer For PC, an external box, will connect any PC to a standard (PAL) TV set with S-Video or phono (composite video) sockets. It supports resolutions up to 1024 by 768 pixels. Special Reserve sells it (see http://serverpool.reserve.co.uk/listings/extrainfo.php?code=gg9560, or see www.newsearching.com/video_conferencing/Trust_TeleViewer.html . You may find other outlets.
Alternatively, Maplin Electronics offers an old 8-bit ISA card that does 640 by 480 pixels (VGA) for about half the price (£29.99). It is called the VGA 2 PAL Gamer and the order number is PQ99H. See www.maplin.co.uk
Save it
Could you tell me how to transfer a picture (BMP or TIFF) from Outlook Express into Word or some other program where I might manipulate it? Is there a way of saving it as an independent item? Michael Muskett
michaelmuskett@beeb.net
JS: If you can see the picture, right-click on the image and select Save Picture As from the pop-up menu. If not, double-click the message so that it appears in a separate window, and select Save Attachments from the File menu. To get it into Word or another program, right-click the image and select Copy from the pop- up menu, then switch to your document, right-click again, and select Paste.
Readers write
I missed a couple of things last week in answering a question about opening web pages in new windows with Internet Explorer, as Euan Robertson ERobertson@featherbrooksbank.co.uk was first to point out. Go to Tools|Internet Options, click on the Advanced tab, and look under Browsing. There is a check box that says: Reuse windows for launching shortcuts. Untick it.
· Sam Gibson adds that holding down the shift key when you click on a link makes IE open links in a new window.
· Finally, Colin O'Brien has a tip that provides access to files without going through Windows Explorer. Right-click the My Computer icon on the desktop and create a shortcut. Drag the shortcut to the Task bar, to turn it into a toolbar. Compress this so that it only shows "My Computer >>". Clicking on this will provide a cascading menu of the file system. You can perform this trick with a shortcut to any folder.
