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There are things I'd rather do than clean my computer
mouse. Really, there are. For instance, licking envelopes
is fun. I also like to cut duct tape with dull scissors.
The thing that separates these other items with cleaning
a mouse is that I need my mouse to perform about 95
percent of my work duties. I need duct tape and envelopes
the other 5 percent whenever I mail chain letters to
I hope at least a few of the 17 people who read this column are interested in building their own Web site, or already have, or would want to if all the letters on their keyboard weren't missing.
The trouble with starting from scratch on the Internet is it's tough to find your newly created URL in the search engine. The good news is there are ways to make it easier. The bad news is you will need more than just the return and shift keys to accomplish this.
Sometimes keeping computer terminology straight is difficult. There are so many definitions, words and acronyms that it is easy to confuse one for the other. For instance, I was talking to my mom the other day about a keyboard, and she thought I meant a music keyboard. Needless to say, she spent hours looking for a delete and escape key on her piano.
I like to dance. I may be the only columnist on the
Web who would make such an outrageous statement.
Not to put other columnists down, but I can't imagine
Dave Barry breaking out into Salsa or George Will doing
the Lambada. If I could imagine that, I wouldn't, because
it creates a very unpretty picture. With or without
guacamole.
Maybe if they had more time, they would visit their
Which of these is greatest thing about the Internet?
A. You can spend hours and hours, even days and weeks
sifting through site after site, finding everything
you ever wanted to know about anything.
B. You can hate
clowns and actually be welcomed to a Web site.
Of course, the answer is B, but only because there's
Microsoft is urging its users to download a cumulative software patch that corrects at least three major security issues in its standard Web browser, Internet Explorer.
If you're not sure if you should perform this update, check the July 2004 Windows Security Update page by clicking here. Hopefully if you use a PC, you are familiar with the update process, but if not, it's pretty easy to do. Just find Windows Update under the Start menu, and follow the directions.
Just in case, you might want to start stashing a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in your freezer. For now, the U.S. courts denied Smuckers a patent on its PB&J pastries, but you never know what will happen the next time out.
My first tour stop in 2008 will be the central branch of the Enoch Pratt Library in Baltimore, where I'll be a part of the fifth-annual CityLit Project. The event is free to both the public and exhibitors, which is not typical for most book-related events. It's pretty annoying to go to some events where either you have to give up a large percentage of your sales or you have to pay an upfront fee.
Unlike Michael Jordan and the Monkeys, it appears that SiteFinder won't be making a comeback.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced that Verisign's system of redirecting users who type in bad domain names shouldn't be rerouted to its search directory.
I wrote about this last year (click here for article) and wondered how Versign could get away with something like this. Apparently, they won't!
QUESTION
Would you meet someone you met or chatted with online, even if you had never seen a picture of the person?
BEN: NO