Internet

Recall -- Last week, my mother asked me if there was a safe alternative to using Real One Player. She writes: " My church offers previously-recorded sermons in the .RM format, and I use Real One Player to play these files. Regrettably, the free ... version of Real One Player comes bundled with adware, and now my computer has advertisements and 'suggestions' popping up on my desktop! Is there a freeware alternative to Real One Player? " Unfortunately, I didn't know the answer ... so, I asked Infopackets Readers for help. Below are some of the suggestions I received. Jeff 'the pianist' ... (view more)

Over the weekend, my mother asked me the following question: " My church offers previously-recorded sermons in the .RM format, and I use Real One Player to play these files. Regrettably, the free version of Real One Player comes bundled with adware, ... and now my computer has advertisements and 'suggestions' popping up on my desktop! I would like to know if there is a freeware alternative to Real One Player, which can handle the .RM and other Real Media formats. What can you suggest? " My Response: Unfortunately, I don't use Real Player and refuse to install it on my machine (for ... (view more)

Last week, I asked Infopackets Readers if there was a way to make Explorer Windows always maximize when launched. Recall: " While flipping through emails and web pages in a fiendish learning frenzy, I offset an Explorer window to one side in order ... to get to another. When I finished what I was working on, I closed all Windows and shut the computer down. Since then, all Explorer windows I launch are opening in an offset position. Why does this happen and how can it be fixed? " Explorer Windows won't open maximized when launched? Since then, I received over 50 suggestions from ... (view more)

A little while back, a reader named Larry K. asked me if it was possible to answer phone calls while still maintaining a dial-up Internet connection. Receive phone calls while using dial-up Internet connection? Recall: " I use dial-up Internet, ... which is the *only* service available in my remote location. I am on call at my work, and my son will be home from University soon. Is there software / hardware / or some type of service available which can alert me of an incoming phone call when I'm online? I really don't want to purchase another phone line. " When I initially published this ... (view more)

... Continued . The following companies offer Internet Call Waiting Phone Alert Services. These services allow Dial-up / Cable / Broadband users to receive and manage phone calls while still connected to the Internet. Below is a cost and Feature ... comparison breakdown. BuzzMe / RingCentral 1 million subscribers world-wide Online Answering Machine with Caller ID Accept Call, Ignore, Reply (text-to-speech messaging), or Send to Voicemail Voicemail with Online/Offline option Toll-Free Access to Messages Accept Call, Call Forwarding, Callback Cell Phone & Pager Notifications Get messages by ... (view more)

Jay29 writes: " After a normal morning boot, the line at the bottom of Internet Explorer disappeared from my screen. This is the line that shows the URL status, the SSL lock, what's being retrieved, privacy icon, and other useful information. I've ... tried many approaches, including the Microsoft Support web site to reinstate the line, but with no luck. How can I reinstate this line? " My Response: The line at the very bottom of an Internet Explorer window is actually called the Status Bar. As Jay29 stated, the Status Bar is a very useful part of Internet Explorer: especially the lock ... (view more)

Bob and Jenny P. write: " For some reason, when I click on an email address link on an email rather than getting the email box, it tries to go to internet explorer opening about 50 explorer boxes.... and the right of my bottom panel bar lights up ... (task scheduler icon, volume icon, avg, icon, etc.) Any idea how to fix this? " My response: This question has been answered before in a previous issue dated January 7, 2003: Web Links in Outlook Express won't work?, Part 2 Since this question comes up quite often *and* largely depends on repairing Internet Explorer, I've decided to provide ... (view more)

Today, David M. sent me an email asking me how to go about Repairing Internet Explorer: " Hello Dennis! The May 20, 2003 issue of the Gazette mentioned the very useful Internet Explorer Repair Tool, accessed from Add/Remove Programs in Control ... Panel. In the past, this method has worked for me when using Win98 and IE5. However, I now run Win2K and IE6 and the IE Repair Tool isn't listed in the Add/Remove Programs, so I can't repair it. Do you or any of your learned readers have any ideas, please? " My Response: I get asked this question a lot from readers, so I've decided to provide ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Larry K. writes: " Dear Dennis, I use dial-up Internet, which is the *only* service available in my remote location. I am on call at my work, and my son will be home from University soon. Is there software / hardware / or some ... type of service available which can alert me of an incoming phone call when I'm online? I really don't want to purchase another phone line. " My response: I remember seeing a piece of hardware advertised on TV which plugs into your phone line and alerts you of an incoming call. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the product [ ... (view more)

Recently, Infopackets Reader 'Cinnamon' asked me a question about how to organize her downloaded ZIP files. She writes: " Is there a guide one can use in attempting to [organize] some or all of them? I'm afraid I'll remove something that I need! " ... My Response: We've been talking about archived files for the last few issues of the newsletter. Incase you've missed it: Zip files are archived files and usually contain many smaller files inside. Finding out what an archived file is (without extracting and utilizing the program) takes too long to do, so there must be a better way. I ... (view more)