| Mother's Day Specials
Here are a couple of Mother's Day Specials made possible by some of our sponsors.
DON'T FORGET flowers for Mother's Day - Easy to order online
iPrint.com is offering 25% off of Mother's Day photo gifts (thru May 12 only)
PhotoWorks is offering 25 free 4x6 prints. Much cheaper than printing your own!
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Reminders
A couple of reminders from previous articles:
- We can still build computers and laptops with Windows XP
- Be sure to use adware and spyware protection such as AdAware and Spybot
- Make sure your computer is set up for Daylight
Saving Time changes
Click for previous Newsletters |
Do you have clients that you wish could receive a newsletter like this from YOU?
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Click on the link above to check it out. Did I tell you it's FREE for the 1st 60 days! No credit card required! |
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Here are links for some products and services we have found very useful. You may find them useful too. Feel free to click on any that interest you to find out more information. No obligation, of course.
Connect to your home or office PC from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. Get $10 off EVERY MONTH!
Faxes sent right to your email! Never miss another fax. Never have to run back to the office!
Staples. 'Nuff said.
Dell Small Business has computers and accessories for you
Good, inexpensive host for your web page. Don't have a web domain? They will get you one free.
Vista Print offers Free Business Cards, Free Rubber Stamps, Free....check it out!
All kinds of batteries. Laptop, Camera, Cell Phone, Alkaline. All kinds! Free Shipping! Save 10% - Use Coupon Code CJ99 at checkout.
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Call us at 410-922-2962
Fax us at 410-609-4677 |
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Dear
Reader:
 May is the month for Mother's Day, and a couple of our sponsors have Mother's Day specials for you. Check them out in the left hand column of this newsletter.
We also have some good (we hope) articles and information for you, so keep reading, keep clicking, and keep in touch. |
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Time for Spring Cleaning
 Spring Cleaning is not just for your house, it's a good idea for your computer, too. Now is a good time to get the cobwebs out of the computer, both literally (hardware) and figuratively (software).
Let's start with the hardware. Make sure the computer is turned OFF for this step. Clean the outside of the computer case with a cloth and household cleaner, but spray the cleaner on the CLOTH, not on the computer. Don't spray the cleaner into any of the openings of the computer. Use this same technique on your keyboard, mouse, monitor, and printer.
If you can open the computer (this might take a screwdriver, but some open with the push of a button), you can use the attachments from your vacuum cleaner to CAREFULLY clean up the dust that enters every computer. BE VERY CAREFUL not to damage any components. Make sure all fans that you can see turn and are free of excess dust. Look into the fan of the power supply at the back of the computer and make sure it is free of dust and can turn easily. If the fans do not turn, your computer could be damaged!
Now that the hardware is sparkling, it's time to clean up the software. Every computer accumulates excess files and space wasters that are easily removed. First, clear your temp folders by going to Start / Run and typing %temp% and clicking OK. Windows Explorer will open showing you the contents of your temp folder. It is usually safe to delete all of these files. (Go to Edit / Select All, then hit the Delete key.) You may find some that can't be deleted. Don't worry about these, just delete the rest. If you have multiple users on the computer, each user should log on and repeat the process.
You may also find files that can be removed from C:\Windows\Temp. Use My Computer or Windows Explorer to get to and remove these files.
You should also clear our temporary internet files. Open Internet Explorer, then go to Tools / Internet Options. For IE6 and earlier, click on Delete Files, then check the box to delete all offline content and click OK. This may take some time, so be patient.
Finally, empty the recycle bin. Now, you have a clean machine! |
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The View on LCD Monitors
 A great Mother's Day present would be to get rid of that old, bulky, heavy CRT (TV-like) monitor and replace it with a sleek, modern, thin, lightweight LCD flat panel. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when looking for LCD monitors.
First, make sure you don't get fooled by the terminology. You might see an ad for a flat screen monitor, but frequently that means a CRT monitor with a relatively flat glass screen as opposed to the curved screens common on older CRTs. The term usually used for the new generation of LCD monitors is "LCD" or "flat panel" monitor.
All monitor sizes are given as the diagonal measurement. With CRT monitors, the measurement is the diagonal size of the picture tube, so the actual viewing area is about an inch less than the diagonal measurement. A 17 inch CRT monitor, therefore, has about a 16 inch diagonal viewing area.
With LCD monitors, however, the advertised size is the diagonal size of the viewable area. So a 17 inch LCD monitor is about an inch larger, diagonally, than a 17" CRT monitor.
The newest wrinkle in the monitor jargon is the Widescreen monitor. A CRT or "standard" LCD monitor has a screen about 1.25 times as long as it is tall. The Widescreen monitor has a screen that is 1.6 times as long as it is tall. These are great for watching movies on the small screen, or looking at two documents side by side if you take the trouble to size the windows correctly on your screen.
Using your old high school algebra (who said you don't use it in Real Life?), or your imagination, you can see that as the screen gets wider while maintaining the same diagonal, the height gets shorter. So, a 19" Widescreen LCD is not as tall as a 19" standard LCD. In fact, it takes a 20" Widescreen LCD to be as tall as a 17" standard LCD! The chart below gives comparisons of screen size for LCD monitors.
| Diag |
Standard LCD |
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Widescreen LCD |
| Size |
Width |
Height |
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Width |
Height |
| 15 |
11.7 |
9.4 |
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12.7 |
8.0 |
| 16 |
12.5 |
10.0 |
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13.6 |
8.5 |
| 17 |
13.3 |
10.6 |
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14.4 |
9.0 |
| 18 |
14.1 |
11.2 |
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15.3 |
9.5 |
| 19 |
14.8 |
11.9 |
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16.1 |
10.1 |
| 20 |
15.6 |
12.5 |
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17.0 |
10.6 |
| 21 |
16.4 |
13.1 |
|
17.8 |
11.1 |
| 22 |
17.2 |
13.7 |
|
18.7 |
11.7 |
To get a Widescreen LCD that is as tall as a standard 19" LCD, it would have to be a 22" (Ouch on the pocketbook)! So, don't get fooled by low prices on 19" Widescreen LCD monitors. You're better off with a 17" standard instead. Unless you want to watch movies on the computer screen, that is.
Our recommendation: Stick with a 17" or 19" standard LCD monitor. Click the Staples link in the left column and get one with free delivery. Your Mom, or you wife or sweetie (or all three!), will thank you. |
Home Office - Small Business Corner
 For those of you who have a home office or small business, we have some tips for you. We use some of these ideas in our business, and our customers have found them very helpful. We hope you do too.
Faxes. You may have a fax machine, but there's a better way to receive your faxes: right in your email. Callwave offers a fax-to-email service that delivers faxes right to your email inbox. No more tying up the phone line to receive faxes. No more answering the phone to hear fax beeps and then rushing to switch the fax machine on. No more missing faxes because you ran out of paper. No more wasting paper on junk faxes. No more missing faxes because you were out of the office. No more . . . well you get the picture.
Faxes sent to your personal fax number (in any area code you select) are converted to .pdf files, attached to an email, and immediately sent to you. You can retrieve them from any place where you have access to your email. You can save them, forward them to others, print only the pages you need to have in hardcopy, and best of all you can delete junk faxes immediately.
This service is great for those who are sometimes away from the office, like real estate agents and appraisers, doctors, lawyers, or anyone else who needs immediate access to faxes from multiple locations or who needs to save or forward faxes just like email.
Try it free for 30 days. Click the Callwave ad in the left column to learn more, start your free trial, or sign up.
Access your PC from anywhere. Have you ever been someplace where you wish you had access to your home or office PC? Missing a file? Need a document? Need to operate software that is on that PC? Want to download or print a document? Want to upload pictures in case you drop your camera in the Grand Canyon? Most of us have been in that situation.
GoToMyPC is a service that allows you to do all that. With this service, you can access your PC from any computer anywhere in the world! Check on your QuickBooks from home or the French Riviera. Update a spreadsheet from Starbucks or from a cruise ship. Rewrite a document from around the corner or around the world. Run your special software from a client's office or from the beach.
Sign up for GoToMyPC through our link and get a 30 day free trial and $10 discount per month, every month. Save even more with an annual payment. After signup, you are prompted to download the software and install it on your internet-connected computer, create passwords and access codes, and you are set to go.
We use it and love it at Master Software.
Telephone Service. Are you paying high prices for business telephone and internet service with Verizon or one of the other big telephone companies? If so, you're not alone. But, you don't need to keep paying high prices.
Master Software has business relationships with several telephone and internet service providers, including Cavalier, Covad, and ATX. There is a good possibility that we can save you big bucks on your phone service. Recently we saved one customer over 30%, and another 40% of what they were paying! (Your mileage may vary).
All you need to do is fax us your telephone bill to our fax number, 410-609-4677. You don't need a cover page since it comes right into our email (yes, we use the Callwave service).
We will analyze your bill and the services you have and determine if we can save you money through one of the many companies we have a relationship with. There is no cost or obligation for us to perform this service (that's right, it is FREE!). Just be sure to fax BOTH SIDES of your phone bills, both the local AND the long distance bills if they are from different providers. You can send them in multiple faxes if you wish; we can put the pages together to get the picture of what you're paying for what you get, and how many local calls and long distance minutes you typically use.
If we can save you money, it's still up to you to decide if you want to change. If not, no problem. We're here to help. |
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Thanks for taking the time to read our newsletter. If you have any suggestions for future articles, or any comments, please feel free to share them with us.
And now . . . I better get busy finding some Mother's Day presents. |
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Steve Leven
Master Software |
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