Holiday Greetings to Everyone!

I hope you enjoyed the last newsletter and are all updating your systems. I got several
nice responses.thank you.    Newsletters are posted on my web site for easy reference!

Well, tis the season so here's a few Holiday "shopping" tips for your computer friends
and you too! Everyone wants something new for their machine and here's a few MUST HAVE
programs for you to check out if you don't have them already and as I encourage most
are FREE FREE FREE
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Lets start with the basics... FREE INTERNET SERVICES

If you are paying for internet service be aware you are spending too much money OR you
have too much money and you should send me some... hehehehe

Several national Internet services are free.  I currently recommend one called 
FREEWWWEB.COM
You can find a sign up button at the bottom of my web page... www.mark-etal.com
You do not need to download any programs and there are NO annoying advertising banners
either.

Yes, on THIS one, I do get credits for people signing up through my web page, 
so please do use MY link on the web page.

You can also check out www.worldspy.com, which also claims to not have any banners.
Other free providers that DO have banners include www.altavista.com and www.netzero.com.

I'm sure there will be an increasing number of these free services with more and more
phone exchanges covered. If you find another good one let me know.

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Next lets do FREE E-MAIL

Even if you have your own e-mail address already provided by your internet service,
I feel it is a good idea to have a WEB-BASED e-mail service.  Since many people are 
still hopping between providers it makes it hard to keep up on the e-mail changes that 
go with it. Every time you change providers your e-mail address changes with it. 
With WEB-BASED e-mail it doesn't matter who your provider is... the e-mail stays the same.       I recommend www.hotmail.com, run by Microsoft.  Although there are an increasing number of FREE E-mail providers just pick one you like.  I have also tried yahoo.com, mailcity.com, eudoramail.com, zdnetmail.com, and usa.net. They all work well and are very similar, although some have more JUNK mail than others do.

Remember to sign up any significant others and the kids so that everybody has there
 own individual e-mail address. 

The other thing nice about WEB-BASED e-mail is that you can check your e-mail from any
 machine in the world... simply go the web page and type in your user name and password 
and you're there. Many provider based e-mail services require you call only into them 
and have many setup screens to go through. 

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FREE TELEPHONE CALLS TO ANYWHERE IN THE COUNTRY?

Now that you have saved all that money for your internet connections, how about 
contacting that great aunt in California that doesn't even have a computer yet?  
CALL HER... FREE.   Try out a web page www.dialpad.com.   It works and it's free to 
anywhere in the country.  You will need a microphone and speakers on your computer 
(actually headphones work best) and the other party simply talks to you on their own 
phone. I have noticed some delays and some choppyness depending on your Internet
service, speed, and connection condition but it does work quite well.

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HEY! GET OFF THAT PHONE LINE

Now that you're all high tech, doing free Internet, free e-mail, and calling all 
your long lost relatives and classmates for free... what about that phone line you're
using?  Is your spouse and kids yelling at you (TOO) to get off the phone so they can 
get their calls?   Well, I have the answer for that too. You could pay $40 per month 
to ma bell for a second phone line OR try this GREAT program.
www.internetcallmanager.com
There is a link to signup for this on my web page also just go to the bottom of 
www.mark-etal.com 

Yes, on THIS one, I also get credits for people signing up through my page, 
so please do use MY link on my web page.

Getting this program gives you a trial period to test it to see if you like it. 
It costs about $4/month and you pay another $1.25 to ma bell for "busy call forwarding".
  And it beats the phone company's answering service any day.

The program provides its own caller ID service and tells you while you are on-line 
that someone is calling. It shows you their name and phone number and gives you 3 choices
on how to handle the call. The caller is told you are online and that you will call them 
right back.  I then go get my free nights and weekends cell phone and call the person 
right back.  Wow, I didn't miss the call and the person didn't get 3 hours of busy 
signals.  The caller can also leave a voice message to the service and you will be 
asked right on line if you want to hear the new message now.  Try that with your 
home answering service.

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PROGRAMS TO TRY

If you need some ideas for programs to use on your new (or old) computer then try out 
www.download.com. 
Here you will find all of the latest and greatest programs grouped by program type and 
by latest releases. There are many trial programs like games and many free ones as well. 
See what you are missing but be ready to spend some time... there are about 100 new 
programs listed each day.

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ANTI-VIRUS

I can't stress this one enough, go to the mall and buy a $20 program to save your data.
I recommend McAfee but Norton will work just as well. Get just the Anti Virus program.
I am STRONGLY against all the other WONDER utilities and tools... they just don't work.

IF you find a virus... call me immediately. I do not charge for service calls to
remove viruses and I will also know which ones are around and how frequent.


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I hope this will give you some Christmas ideas for your family and friends. 
Saving money can be a great gift. And the knowledge never hurts either.

Coming in January (if we survive Y2K) information on ICQ and other messenger services


Happy Holidays
From Mark-et al. Computers
Mark Hayden, President
mark@mark-etal.com
www.mark-etal.com
317-892-4516