Dennis Faas

Recall -- Last week, Infopackets Reader Jenny C. asked if I knew of a freeware greeting card program. She wrote: " I am wondering if you could help me: I have been trying to find a small (and hopefully free) software program to create ordinary ... greeting cards -- one that I can put my own pictures or clipart on, write my own verse, and mail it (via snail mail) to friends. I used to use a greeting card program that came pre-packaged with my computer, but the program has expired and I can no longer use it. I would love to make my own greeting cards and I am sure other subscribers would too. ... (view more)

With the main web server upgrade finally complete, I have decided to up the ante by implementing a new 'control panel' which revolutionizes the way that users interact with our newsletter and web site content. In a nutshell, the new layout will ... allow Readers to post comments after each newsletter article, jump to relevant topics, download complete issues via email, search past issues, and much more. This change comes after announcing last week that our newsletter will soon be available via RSS news feeds . Other changes I also plan to re-write the newsletter delivery program so that email ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Chris W. writes: " Dear Dennis, I'm having a little problem running my wireless laptop PC. It seems every time someone in my home picks up one of the cordless phone, the Internet service from the Linksys is interrupted. The ... Linksys router is attached to my sons desktop computer. Do you any solution to this problem? " My response: Unfortunately, I'm still using old technology which requires me to use wires to connect more than one computer to my router. I did, however, forward this question to Jake Ludington and he was able to shed some insight. Jake comments: ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'SweetImage' writes: " Dennis is there any way to get rid of the Mirar toolbar once and for all? I have searched sites where I have found loads of people having the same problem. I have used at least 8 different Adware-blocking ... programs to remove the toolbar from my system, but none of them can get rid of this rotten thing! Mirar support has not answered my emails and I am going absolutely crazy trying to remove it from my system. I cannot use the Windows System Restore because it won't allow me to roll back (except for today's date) -- and furthermore, Dell can't help ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Jenny C. writes: " Hi! I just read my first newsletter -- it was great and I am looking forward to more issues! I am wondering if you could help me: I have been trying to find a small (and hopefully free) software program to ... create ordinary greeting cards -- one that I can put my own pictures or clipart on, write my own verse, and mail it (via snail mail) to friends. I used to use a greeting card program that came pre-packaged with my computer, but the program has expired and I can no longer use it. I would love to make my own greeting cards and I am sure other ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Ruth S. writes: " Dear Dennis, I use Outlook Express. Every time I receive an email, the sender's address ends up in my Blocked Senders List. The next time the person emails me again, it goes directly into my Deleted Items folder. ... I don't know why this keeps happening. Any ideas?" My response: I can honestly say that I have never encountered this problem before. At any rate, I have a few suggestions: 1. Clear your Blocked Senders List and Mail Rules. Open Outlook Express Click Tools -> Message Rules -> Blocked Senders List Delete all blocked senders entries ... (view more)

Recall -- Earlier this month Infopackets Reader Joan L. asked if I knew of a freeware envelope printing program. She wrote: " Hi Dennis! I really do enjoy reading all of your letters and find your newsletter very informative -- I have learnt a great ... deal. I usually type out the address in MS Word and then print out the envelope, but this is done using trial an error and I often waste a few envelopes along the way. I know you have many questions to answer, but I am sure other Readers are in the same boat as I am. Many thanks if you could point me in the right direction! " In my ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Joel M. writes: " Hello Dennis, This is my first time to write to you because I have usually found the answers to my questions in your wonderful articles. Please keep them coming! I do not have the call waiting feature disabled on ... my computer, nor do I have one of those 'catch-a-call' boxes which allows me to answer an incoming call when I'm connected to the Internet. Instead, I gone to Control Panel -> Modems -> Advanced Settings, and used the modem command 'ATS11=254' which (I believe) has given me the option of ignoring / allow incoming calls. Unfortunately, a ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'farzee2k' writes: " My friend has windows XP installed on his system. Somehow, he deleted his account so he is not able to access the files stored in his My Documents folder. He does not have access to the Administrator account ... either, so when he logs on through another user account, he cannot access the files stored in his original account. Is there anyway he can access those files?" My Response: All user account folders are (by default) located in C:\Documents and Settings. And, some user folders in the Documents and Settings directory are hidden. Therefore, I ... (view more)

What meaning would my life have if my own mother didn't read this newsletter? Infopackets Reader 'Mom' (a.k.a. 'Nurse Lynda') writes: " Dear Dennis, Thanks for installing Windows XP for me on the weekend. Today, I noticed that my CPU is ... overly-active and operating continually with 100% usage. I have opened up Task Manager and have attempted to identify the cause, but there were a number of processes that I have not seen before and the [process] table changes too rapidly to tell otherwise. Question: how can I correctly identify and eliminate the process which is causing this abnormal CPU ... (view more)