Hello everyone

Welcome to a double issue of the newsletter, with the last issue Volume 2 Edition 31 located online in the archive. I hope everyone has been enjoying the Holiday Season so far and, I would like to wish everyone a Safe and Happy New Year 2002!

Before I get started with the actual content for this issue, I would like to address all subscribers who receive the newsletter at a web based email account (i.e. Yahoo, Hotmail, Excite, etc), or their place of employment. The newsletter is published in HTML format with changing colors, images and scripts. Web based mail servers like the fore mentioned do not display these newsletters as they are intended (i.e. I never use dark background with dark text/links), and due to increasing virus threats most companies reject email containing scripts. In the event that you are experiencing problems either viewing or receiving the newsletter, I would suggest you change your subscription address or view the newsletter at the website.

Site Related News:

I have added a few more Screensavers as follows:

• 3-D Kaleidoscope, a slideshow saver with 21 special display effects that features 34 original 3-d abstract pictures, and 2 midi sound files for background music (for matching desktop themes see Lemon Fractal and Citrus Fractal currently in the Miscellaneous theme section).

• Christmas Market is a saver featuring an original picture of an old fashioned holiday market with animated snow, and 10 seasonal midi sound files played at random for background music.

• Winter Scene (Careware) also a saver with a picture based on the art by Thomas Kinkade, with animated holiday lights, falling snow, 3 seasonal midis (play random), and a time display clock.

Adorable Teddies in Print are on sale for US$ 10.- each! These poster prints are hand signed & numbered, varying in size from 15½x11¾ inches to 17½x12 inches and come on high-quality cardboard weight, acid-free paper. For a matching screensaver see Bear Living

Past Lives Revealed website offers original Inspirational & Angel Stationery for Outlook and/or Outlook Express users, free original Inspirational Greeting Cards, Mystical Desktop Themes & Wallpaper, Various Readings (Palms, Clairvoyant, Dreams, Past Lives, Missing Items/People, Tarot, Herbalists, and many more) or visit the website's own Chatroom.

The Gifts:

Some changes have been been made to the Stationery install directories (please see the enclosed README text with each file and/or the EML Help section). Please choose the correct file to download and read the enclosed text files for install/uninstall directions, and other important information. The Wallpaper is for 800x600 screen settings, also best viewed in high color of 16-bit or better. All graphic images for Stationery, Wallpaper and Screensaver are original creations made with PSP 7 (tubes & filters for effects), watermarked and copyright © 2001.

* PLEASE NOTE: Gifts are only for actual subscribers (available for 5-7 days with each issue) and not for visitors to the newsletter archive at the website.

*** NOTE*   I use Zip Magic to compress Stationery and/or Desktop Theme files into EXE format. If you ever get a password prompt during installation... ignore it and proceed. They are not password protected! For more help with installation(s) visit the Help section at either Stationery, Theme Help, and the Hotbar Skin Tutorial sections.

*** PLEASE READ IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT LINKS ***

Useful Programs:

Here are a few websites that offer a variety of programs that are free and can be quite useful for personal or small business use:

• Photo Plus 5 is a name brand product offered by Serif. This is a fully functional photo editing program (no time limits or other limitations but free registration is required) that lets you enhance photos, apply and/or create text effects, shapes, image slicing and creates image maps (this is handy for people with homepages). Make sure you get the additional filters (for special picture effects), CMYK separator (needed for professional print jobs), sample files and the tutorial offered on this page as well.

• Another fully functional Freeware software offered by Serif (registration required as well) is Web Plus 1. This great program lets you build homepages with ease using one of its many Wizards for page layout, create animated banners, logos (homepage header), animated marquees, spell check, supports java, and much more. Make sure to get all the add-ins that are offered here as well like, 33 additional Wizards, extra filters, and also detailed documentation. Use a download manager like GoZilla! (freeware) because the total of all downloaded files (including the extras) comes to about 34 MB... but trust me this is well worth it.

• ExpressIt!, (by Broderbrund) offers a fully functional printing program called PrintMaster Express (Freeware) that lets you create banners, newsletters (printed), brochures, greeting cards, business cards, craft projects and more. You can get more projects like cards, crafts, etc. from their website with a build-in update feature. Well worth having and very easy to use.

• The ExpressIt! site also offers another free software called 3-D Greetings PE that lets you create awesome animated cards (cards will be packaged into a stand-alone exe file for the recipient that you email as an attachment) for every occasion from their pre-made selection or use your own pictures and/or sound files. Register at the website for free to receive free updates for the software, additional free cards, cute 3-D screensavers, or send cards directly from their website without installing the software. I would suggest that you download the software... makes creating cards easier. *smile*

• Handy Quote 3.3 is a Freeware program for small businesses that lets you create inventory reports, purchase orders, sales quotes, sales reports, and much more. This program also supports multiple currencies which is great for businesses overseas, supports multiple tax systems (across multiple states within the US), generates HTML pages from any report, and includes various templates for reports and quotes (complete list of features at their website). A great program with password protection, Windows 95/98/NT compatible and at an unbeatable price. *smile*

• Clarisys offers a completely free software called S3 Accounting. As the name indicates, this is a full featured accounting program that is also compatible with MS Office and Corel WordPerfect Suite. The software does all the things you would expect from an expensive program to include but not limited to: General ledger, Accounts receivable & payable, invoice & order entry system, Bank reconciliation, automated cheque printing, design your own reports, business forms, financial statements, etc. Make sure to register this program, you will get the registration code for the software in your email. The download is about 11 MB (use a download manager), but well worth it.

• Software602 offers PC Suite 2001, a Freeware alternative to and fully compatible with the Microsoft Office Suite... but just so much more affordable. *smile* Just like MS Office, this program works on all Windows versions, offers all the key features like a Word Processor that looks and feels much like MS Word with plain text, rich text, document and HTML output, includes text magic, fully MS Excel compatible with its database creator, 2-D and/or 3-D graph output, built-in photo editor, text to speech and so much more. Read about the system requirements and full list of features at their website. The download is about 15 MB, and you have to register online. Some add-ins for the program like fax, print pack and multiple-user versions are also available. A great alternative to MS Office and time well spent to download and register.

• If you are a Microsoft PowerPoint user, you will love these free Templates offered by CrystalGraphics called PowerPlugs Templates LE, which include 5 PowerPoint templates containing 10 stunning backgrounds. These templates are a free taste for their new collection of 30,0000 templates available on CD that include 60,000 backgrounds and make a fantastic addition to the basic templates already included with MS PowerPoint. These templates are sure to energize your next presentation with a rich, memorable appearance!

General Computing Software:

The following are various programs for the average computer user. Hope you will find the software, sites and information useful:

• GraFX Saver Pro 3.0 (Shareware) by CDH Production lets you create very professional looking screensavers. The program supports all kinds of media files like a very impressive number of image & video formats (70 total) which can be mixed through out your project, a large variety of popular sound formats like MP3, wav, au, midi, aiff and more. The possibilities with this screensaver producer are almost endless, as it also includes over 2000 special effects and transitions (can be tested and previewed for each scene), lets you control display size, position, display time, background color or image, and a caption for each scene just to name a few. You do not have to be a computer whiz to use this program, because all controls are straight forward and easy very easy to use. When your project is done the program will produce a screensaver file or an exe file for distribution on CD or over the Internet with just a click of the mouse.

• I came to a website called HereOnTheWeb by pure accident (... forget what I was looking for). Anyway, it turns out he has a step-by-step picture tutorial on how to run dual monitors from the same computer with Windows 98/2000/ME. I found the idea very intriguing, his instructions are detailed (sounds and looks easy enough), and the accompanying links to other websites for monitors and similar websites dealing with the same topic are also quite informative. While you are at this website, make sure to check out his Weekly Picks for the Internet.

• If your OS (Operating System) is anything other than Windows XP (suppose to be crash proof), you will have noticed that Windows will perform a mini crash from time to time. When this happens you may get some sort of error message from Explorer, and this in turn will probably shut down every window you had open (hope you saved your current project). Generally this not too serious and shouldn't prompt a reboot, though most times you'll end up doing just that because, all of the icons in your tray (located by your clock in the lower right hand corner of the screen) will have disappeared by now (may include any of the following: ICQ, Yahoo Messenger, volume control, scanner, web cams, etc.). A tiny Freeware program (224 KB download) called YTray Magic Lite 1.0 fixes this problem automatically. I've been running the software for two weeks now and love it... no more rebooting because of lost icons.

• Computer viruses are currently rampant in cyberspace, and I cannot stress enough the importance of an updated anti virus program installed on your PC. Learn how to use it (read included help files), update it at least once a week (every day wouldn't hurt), and above all scan every file on your PC (disable all exclusions, usually set to Recycle Bin... W32SirCam for instance runs out of the Recycle Bin), email messages and all downloaded files before you install them on your PC! If you cannot afford to pay for an anti virus program, there are still a few good freebies available (also see past issues of this newsletter) like AntiVir Personal Edition (German & English version available), which is a full featured Freeware Anti Virus program for all Window versions.

  You may also want to consider running VCatch in addition to your regular anti virus program. This software scans only incoming files from Internet Explorer, Netscape, ICQ, Napster, Gnutela, and email (OE, Outlook, Netscape Messenger, and Eudora) and then deletes the whole file if a trojan or virus is present. VCatch is not a full featured anti virus software, which means if you already have a virus or trojan present on your PC (been spreading the "joy") it will not be able to find nor remove it.

  The Symantec (also known as Norton) website offers a long list of quick fix tools for most popular viruses and/or trojans. Download all of them to a floppy disk, label it and keep in safe place... these removal tools will save your PC one day! Another good website with a lot of information about the newest virus and trojans trends is called UpNet Help. This site offers instructions on what measures you can take to protect your PC from attacks, manual virus removal, virus sources, how to backup your system and much more.

*** IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT URL's (LINKS), PRIVACY AND/OR MAINTENANCE ***
This Newsletter and/or its Author are not responsible for the Maintenance and/or the Privacy Policies of websites listed within the Newsletter Issue(s)! At the time of publication, all listed URL's (Links) for websites and/or programs are in working condition and are accessible. The sudden unaccessibility of a website and/or program may be due to sudden traffic increase and/or other temporary causes I have no control over. Try the URL (Link) for any given program and/or website again at a later time.    Thank you!

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The Finishing Touches:

Hope you enjoyed this edition of the newsletter, and found lots of useful information. You may share this newsletter with your friends and family or visit the website for the current & all previous Issues: Kenja's Newsletter & Updates

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Copyright © 2001 Kenja's Newsletter & Updates   ISSN: 1530-700X   All Rights Reserved! Content written & edited by A. Way aka Kenja. The opinions expressed herein are my own. The reproduction, direct linking and/or unauthorized use of any part(s) of this Newsletter, it's content, layout and/or graphics is strictly forbidden!