PC Today Volume 4 Issue 1

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by  Sandhills Publishing

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Table of
Contents
www.pctoday.com Volume 4 • Issue 1 (cid:127) January 2006
COVER STORY Buzz
Mobile & Web News.............................8
New Portable Gear..............................10
TROUBLESHOOT
On The Road
Web Destinations...............................12
Maps & More At A9.com
Luxury Upgrades................................15
Discover Affordable Perks
International Traveler..........................18
Whether you’re having trouble with Internet Explorer, a wireless
Foreign Currency Online
setup, or your mobile phone, this month’s cover stories can help.
One For The Road...............................20
32 Troubleshoot Your Internet Connection Business Travel Accessories
A Guide For Road Warriors
36 Troubleshoot Your Wireless Connection Office Space
Get Back Online In No Time Scot’s Take.......................................22
New Facets Of IE 7
40 Troubleshoot Your Mobile Phone Connection
Microsoft Office Tips & Tweaks...............24
Make Sure They Can Hear You Now
Microsoft Excel 2003...........................26
Printing Spreadsheets
Microsoft Word 2003...........................28
Formatting With Style
Microsoft Outlook 2003........................30
44 Why You Need Web Email Organize Your Time
Convenient, Customizable & Secure
PC Today.com
46 Web Email Services
Stay Up-To-Date
Pros & Cons
With PCToday.com.............................50
There Is Something New Every Day
Copyright 2006 by Sandhills Publishing Company. PC Todayis a registered trademark of Sandhills Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Reproduction of material appearing in PC Todayis strictly prohibited without written permission. Printed in the U.S.A. GST #
123482788RT0001 (ISSN 1040-6484). PC TodayUSPS 022541 is published monthly for $29 per year by Sandhills Publishing Company, 131
West Grand Drive, P.O. Box 85380, Lincoln, NE 68501-5380. Subscriber Services: [phone]. Periodicals postage paid at Lincoln, NE.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to PC Today, P.O. Box 85380, Lincoln, NE 68501-5380.
Undocked
Windows Mobile Tips..........................52
Palm OS Tips....................................54
Tablet PC Tips...................................56
Help Your PDA Help You.......................58
A Roundup Of Mobile Productivity
& Security Apps
Roaming
The Hot Spot.....................................62
Your Guide To Wi-Fi 62
Stay Connected..................................64 STphe oHott
Snapfish Mobile
CDMA vs. GSM..................................67
Why You Should Know The Difference
20 One For
Mixing Signals..................................70
The Road
A Closer Look At Cell Phone Jammers
BlackBerry Software............................72
You Can Never Have Too Much
70
Mobile Games...................................74
Mixing
Fun For Road Warriors
Signals
BlackBerry Tips..................................75
Home Base
The Well-Tuned PC.............................77
Using User Accounts
The Latest Software............................79
PC Today, Mac Tonight........................81
The Transition Is Easier Than You Think
Getting
90
Go Light
Bumped
The Delayed Traveler...........................92
Admit It, This Is The First Page You Turned To
Business
Travel 911
Wireless Internet Connection Problems......84
Modem Problems................................86
Dead Batteries....................................87
Identity Theft......................................88
Getting Bumped..................................90
EDITOR’S NOTE
CCuussttoommeerr SSeerrvviiccee
(For questions about your subscription, or
TToo PPllaaccee AAnn OOrrddeerr OOrr CChhaannggee AAnn AAddddrreessss)
Greetings and welcome to 2006! It’s going to be an interesting year. Ordinary con- [email protected]
sumers are buying into mobile and wireless technologies like never before. Partly [phone]
FAX: [phone]
that’s because Microsoft hasn’t released a new version of Windows since 2001’s
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WinXP, so money that might have been spent on an operating system or PC up-
PPCCTTooddaayy
grade has been available for other things. Turning household PCs into wireless net-
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works was an extremely popular computing pastime in 2005. Notebook sales also
Lincoln, NE 68501-5380
soared last year, even briefly sailing past unit sales for desktop PCs. Hours
Another reason why mobile tech is a hot prospect is that there are a lot of Mon. - Fri.: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (CST)
products and services to be excited about. When talking to the press about mobile Sat.: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (CST)
Online Customer Service & Subscription Center
communications, Intel likes to say that even the dumbest phone is going to be
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smart. That sums it up right there. There are so many features and services that
WWeebbSSeerrvviicceess
manufacturers and software developers can pack into smartphones (GPS, VoIP,
(For questions about our Web site.)
multiple wireless options, RFID scanner, and on and on) that the $500 model
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you’re holding now might well be the $199 model by year’s end. If there’s a mobile [phone]
technology you wish you could afford, wait just a little while, and it’ll become
AAuutthhoorriizzaattiioonn FFoorr RReepprriinnttss
standard on lower-end devices. REPRINT MANAGEMENT SERVICES
It’s also going to be an interesting year because Microsoft (and how well or Toll Free: 800-290-5460
poorly it plays with others) will be really fun to watch. Will Time Warner drop 717-399-1900 ext. 100 Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
America Online only to have Microsoft snatch it up or form some kind of
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partnership? Now that the Justice Department has forced Microsoft and
EEddiittoorriiaall SSttaaffff
RealNetworks to turn lemons into lemonade, will the resulting music service put a
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huge dent in Apple’s iTunes? Will Microsoft actually out-innovate Mozilla in the FAX: [phone]
Web browser department and deliver an Internet Explorer that can top Firefox? 131 W. Grand Drive
Oh, and here’s a big one we’ll be following closely in PC Today: Will Microsoft’s Lincoln, NE 68521
unexpectedly cozy relationship with Palm (you can’t get cozier than letting your SSuubbssccrriippttiioonn RReenneewwaallss
devices run Windows Mobile rather than your own operating system) make for a [phone]
FAX: [phone]
better or worse Treo? And if it’s better, will it (and its accompanying enterprise
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services) be good enough to squash the BlackBerry? Of course, BlackBerry-maker
AAddvveerrttiissiinngg SSttaaffff
Research In Motion could crumble under the weight of its own legal battles, but
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that’s another story.
FAX: [phone]
Two new products will also dominate the landscape at some point this year: 131 W. Grand Drive
Windows Vista (at least that’s what the next major operating system version will be Lincoln, NE 68521
called if Microsoft doesn’t lose a legal battle over the name or decide it’s really not
EEddiittoorriiaall SSttaaffff:: Ronald D. Kobler / Calvin Clinchard /
that great a name after all) and the successor to Office 2003 (currently going by the
Raejean Brooks / Nate Hoppe / Corey Russman /
name Office 12). But although they’ll undoubtedly generate some controversy, Rod Scher / Christopher Trumble / Katie Sommer /
these products will surely succeed financially with little struggle. Kimberly Fitzke / Katie Dolan / Blaine Flamig / Sally
All of this, and I haven’t even mentioned the 800-pound gorillas in the room: Curran / Michael Sweet / Trista Kunce / Sheila Allen
/ Linne' Ourada / Joy Martin / Marty Sems / Chad
Google and Yahoo!, which will continue to be thorns in Microsoft’s side. Then
Denton / Nathan Chandler / Kylee Dickey / Josh
again, look for Microsoft to fight back in the form of Windows Live.
Gulick / Andrew Leibman / Vince Cogley / Sam
There have been a lot of so-called tech battles over the last few years, but none has Evans / Jennifer Johnson / Brian Weed
measured up to Microsoft vs. Netscape. Sure, Apple vs. Microsoft has yielded some WWeebb SSttaaffff:: Dorene Krausnick / Laura Curry / Kristen
testy remarks and bursts of excitement, but a gener- Miller
CCuussttoommeerr SSeerrvviiccee:: Becky Rezabek / Lana Matic /
ally peaceful coexistence prevails. No, this year will
Lindsay Albers
be different. Stay with PC Todayas we follow the SSuubbssccrriippttiioonn RReenneewwaallss:: Connie Beatty / Matt
events and, as always, let me know how we’re doing. Bolling / Patrick Kean / Charmaine Vondra / Miden
Ebert / Kathy DeCoito / Stephanie Contreras /
Nicole Buckendahl
AArrtt && DDeessiiggnn:: Lesa Call / Ginger Falldorf / Carrie
Until next month,
Benes / Aaron Weston / Fred Schneider / Sonja
Warner / Aaron D. Clark / Lori Garris / Jason Codr /
Andria Schultz / Erin Rodriguez / Lindsay Anker
NNeewwssssttaanndd:: Garth Lienemann / Jeff Schnittker
AAddvveerrttiissiinngg SSaalleess::Grant Ossenkop / Cindy Pieper /
CCaallvviinn CClliinncchhaarrdd Brooke Wolzen / Eric Cobb
PPuubblliiccaattiioonn EEddiittoorr MMaarrkkeettiinngg:: Mark Peery / Liz Kohout / Marcy Gunn
[email protected] / Kelly Richardson / Jen Clausen / Scot Banks /
Ashley Hannant / Luke Vavricek / Travis Brock /
Jeff Ashelford

Buzz
Mobile News
by Raejean Brooks
Promoting Linux Your Favorite Shows, Pocket-Sized
On Mobile Devices The iPod certainly is a handy little device. You can lug it
around and listen to a ton of songs or view pictures on the de-
vice, and now you can also watch your favorite TV show or
With world- rock out to your favorite music video. Following Apple’s in-
wide mo- troduction of the video iPod (www.apple.com/ipod
bile phone /ipod.html) with its 2.5-inch display last year, the Walt
sales on the Disney Co. (disney.go.com) agreed to make a number of its
rise, handset prime-time TV shows, including popular programs “Lost”
manufacturers and “Desperate Housewives,” available for download to the
are turning to new iPod. Disney isn’t the only one cashing in on the new
Linux as a platform technology. Pixar Animation (www.pixar.com) is also plan-
to deliver more capable mobile de- ning to contribute six animated shorts for viewing on the
vices. The OSDL (Open Source iPod. Users can download shows from Apple’s iTunes service
Development Labs; www.osdl.org), at a cost of $1.99 per episode. More than 2,000 music videos are also available for down-
which is responsible for accelerating load at iTunes at a 320 x 240 resolution.
the adoption of Linux, responded
to the growing global demand for
Linux-based platform requirements Mobile Chip Does Audio & Video
and input from its membership last
Agere Systems (www.agere.com) recently released a chipset that provides more
fall by announcing its MLI (Mobile
functionality to mobile phone users. The Vision X115 chipset supports cinema-quality
Linux Initiative). The purpose of
video and CD-quality audio capabilities for mainstream EDGE feature phones and
MLI is not only to bring software
smartphones. Manufacturers using the X115 in their handsets can add features such as
enhancements to the OS, but also
real-time audio and video streaming, stereo music, digital photo imaging, and interac-
to spur development of applica-
tive gaming into their phones. “The X115 is the first of what we plan as a long line of
tions, to outline requirement for
solutions bringing features to the mass consumer market previously available only in
different mobile phone users, and
higher-end phones,” says Phil Carrier, marketing vice president for Agere’s Mobility
to host related open-source devel-
Division. “As many of our competitors still struggle with implementing multi-
opment projects.
processor offerings, we are demonstrating that Agere is in this market to win with so-
Using Linux gives device makers a
lutions available today. Our solutions deliver rich audio and video requirements at
faster, low-cost option to market and
the price points that phone makers, operators, and consumers are demanding.”
driver support than is typically avail-
able with other mobile OSes. “Linux
provides mobile device manufac-
New & Rugged From Motorola
turers with a powerful platform and
unmatched interoperability to deliver If you are in the market for a handheld mobile computer that is
new capabilities in advanced head- rugged and ideal for mobile data applications, consider Motorola’s
sets,” says OSDL’s CEO Stuart Cohen. (www.motorola.com) HC700-L, the first in a series of computers
Sometime in the next few designed to withstand the rigors of everyday use. The HC700-L gives
months, if it isn’t available as you mobile workers secure, reliable, and flexible access to business-critical
are reading this, PalmSource will be information and processes, which in turn lets them improve productivity and cus-
releasing its interface for Linux- tomer satisfaction. This handheld computer features Intel’s XScale processor (www
based handsets, codenamed Palm .intel.com/design/intelxscale), a color touchscreen, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities,
OS for Linux. This interface will also and an omnidirectional area image for barcode imaging. Motorola plans to release
allow phones to run existing Palm additional models in the HC700 line that will offer an array of communication options
applications. ❙ to provide customers with choices for their mobile operator service.
8 January2006 /www.pctoday.com