Never wonder what to rent at the video store again. This collection of DVD reveiws will help you choose a movie you haven't seen, or remind you of an old favorite you should see again. Brett Trout offers enough details to get you interested in the DVDs (or to warn you against them), without giving the story away. If you've got a PDA, we've got formats that are compatible with your Palm or Pocket PC, so you can even take these reviews with you to your favorite video outlet. Save time wondering what you're going to rent tonight and start with this collection.

PC World Picks Diagnose Your PC: Intel ID Utility MyCPU v1.13d Active CPU v1.0 SysId v2.0a Cool Beans v1.0.1.8

And what do you use to burn your CDs? John Onda wants you to consider a smaller, cheaper alternative. "For a good second choice or for someone on a budget, I would HIGHLY recommend NTI CD-Maker. Broderbund packages it in several products, but most importantly, a version is available in the $10 CD racks in office or computer superstores as 'NTI CD Maker Essentials.' The $10 version is a slightly cut down version of the full version 5, and they have moved on to version 6 with more video (VCD, DVD) options. But if someone can't get Roxio / Adaptec to work, NTI works right EVERY TIME in my experience on several machines of several vintages. NTI is EASY, it's FAST, it does the normal things of data CD, audio CD from WAVs or MP3s, and VCDs, and mixed mode. Since I have both Nero and NTI, I use both. NTI is actually faster to get setup and BURN. I used the Adaptec program since it was Corel and I upgraded it all along, a million patches." I've found that the new Nero Express is quite useful, even though the UI is still a little kludgy. It's a step in the right direction.

I'm rescinding my application for the funny farm. Microsoft finally released an update to the bug we originally uncovered a few weeks ago: "This update fixes an issue with Outlook 2000 in Internet Mail Only (IMO) mode after the Microsoft Office 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP-3) is installed, in which Outlook reminders may not behave as expected or they may use 100 percent of the CPU when they appear." download this patch immediately. Oh, and UT2003 2166 was just put on the Web, too. Is there a full moon tonight? What, with a new Winamp 3 build being issued as well (even though I'll stick with the 2.x series from here until the hereafter). ObjectDock 0.75 is also online. Need yet another update? The Lockergnome store, as it is currently, will be closing its doors forever. We are almost completely out of larger sized shirts, but we still have tons of stuff for people with an L or M on their tag - and two special offers that don't depend on the size of your shirt. Until the end of December 2002, or until we run out, purchase either the paperback edition of Poor Richard's E-mail Publishing or the Women of Lockergnome photo collection and you'll get a free Lockergnome mouse pad. We can guarantee that these mouse pads will never be made again, so get yours while you still can.

Yours Digitally,              
Chris Pirillo       

GnomeDOWNLOADS

As Simple As Photoshop Tutorials W9x/2k/XP FREE

http://digicollage.com/asap/downloads/

{Photoshop tutorials} Get moving with Photoshop ASAP! ASAP stands for As Simple as Photoshop, and this site offers two free tutorials as well as others for purchase. The tutorials can be viewed online or downloaded as .exe files. The Concepts [3.7M download] e-book, intended for beginners, covers the Photoshop interface and general work principles accompanied with tutorials illustrated with animated screenshots. The Tools [6.6M download] is a comprehensive Toolbox reference for all users. Visual learners will benefit from "seeing" Photoshop in action as opposed to listening to lectures or reading wordy texts. Download ASAP and sharpen those Photoshop skills! [Meryl]

SnackAmp v2.0 [1.5M] W9x/2k/XP FREE

http://www.mywebattack.com/gnomeapp.php?id=105370

SnackAmp is a multi-platform music player with common music player abilities as well as multi-user support and a powerful auto-play list feature. The program is not focused on flashy skins and visualizations, but rather functionality and efficiency. It allows you to catalogue your media folders and removable media (CDs, etc.) for fast searching and access, edit ID3 tags, rename and move files, and more. SnackAmp can work in network environments, even share music and play lists and handle very large numbers of files. It also offers a mini-view and a browser play control, a built-in server for remote access and more. SnackAmp is intended for serious media collectors, and will probably not appeal much to beginners who are looking for an all around mp3 player. [MWA]

News Screen Saver v1.01.19 [3.6M] W9x/2k/XP FREE

http://www.mywebattack.com/gnomeapp.php?id=105333

News Screen Saver retrieves the latest and most impacting pictures from top news sites and then creates a screensaver with those pictures and their news stories. Actually, even though called a screen saver, it is more like a slideshow and does not actually install as a screensaver. A great idea, poorly implemented, but useful to quickly get an overview of recent news events. You can select from several different channels to retrieve the topics you re interested in. [MWA]

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GnomeCLICKS

GnomeSYSTEM

DeadPixelTest v1.0 [191 kb] W9x/2k/XP FREE

http://www.starzen.com/imaging/deadpixeltest.htm

{Digital camera utility} Wanted: camera, and it had better be alive. This free utility enables you to test your digital camera for dead and hot pixels. "Dead" pixels are elements on the CCD that do not work at all. This is determined by checking the RGB and luminance value of the pixel. In the case of a lens cap shot, this should be close to black. If the pixel is white or almost white, it is a dead pixel. A bad or "hot" pixel is determined by checking the luminance of the pixel. If the luminance falls above the threshold, it's added to the bad pixel list. Depending on the length of exposure and other circumstances, bad pixels may not be that bad, since some noise can be considered A-OK. If the camera has many dead pixels and hot spots, R.I.P. Digi T. Alcamera. [Meryl]

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GnomeFAVORITE

Did You Know?

http://www.didyouknow.cd/

{Facts, facts, facts} Jeopardy contestant wannabes can start their extreme training here. ATM (at the moment), I'm on the SMS/Text page for shortcut tips, :-), poems, jokes, and tips. Here's a tip for single folks: you can anonymously send that cute person an SMS, and the page tells how. Next is "What's New in the World," for marveling at new technology. Tearing myself away from the geek pages, I hop to the animal section and learn that platypus is the only mammal that is poisonous. Long out of my teen stage, the music page covers the Billboard Top 10. Some group called Rascal Flats is hot. The only Rascals I know are Spanky and Alfalfa. An information geek can get lost in these pages for hours. I'm living proof, as I spent more time on this site than I do on an average Gnome Favorite site. Must stop. Must close window! L8r, G8r. [Meryl]

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GnomeTIPS

Question: My video card has a DVI and the normal SVGA connector. I was just wondering if the DVI connector is better?

Answer: The simple answer is, yes, the DVI connector is better. I suppose now you are going to want me to fumble my way through explaining this? Well, if I must...

DVI stands for Digital Visual Interface. Right now, your computer has to convert its digital video feed to an analog video feed for your monitor. With DVI, everything stays digital. Just like the difference between tape and CD, this means that you get better quality because there is no conversion process. DVI supports higher resolutions and more pixels. DVI even has the capability to support high-definition video. DVI supports a bandwidth of about 165 MHz, which equates to about 165 million pixels per second. DVI is also hot pluggable (although not supported by current Microsoft operating systems), which means that you can unplug and/or plug in a DVI device while the machine is running. A lot of people see DVI becoming the next major video standard, replacing all of the current standards such as SVGA. One thing to keep in mind is that your monitor needs to support DVI for you to be able to use the DVI connector on your video card. On a side note, if anyone is thinking about buying a new flat panel monitor, I suggest that you pick up a model that supports both analog and DVI connectors. Otherwise, you may find yourself having to upgrade your monitor when you upgrade your video card. [Brian]

Optimize Internet Explorer/Outlook Express Are you online right now? Yeah, then you're probably using Internet Explorer. And what do you use to check your e-mail? Outlook or Outlook Express? Then you'll want to keep this GnomeTome handy. Sure, you can surf the Web - but wouldn't you rather surf it with certainty? Get to know those programs you probably use most often. Download our 50 Internet Tips.

Answer: Choices galore for ya! A company that I've worked for despises employees downloading freeware programs, but (between you and me) a co-worker loved the wallpaper program that she got from Webshots because the wallpapers are easy to change and new ones appear daily. A little camera icon appears in your System Tray when there are new pictures available for downloading. I've seen the pictures on her monitor, and they have amazing quality. As of this typing, there are 30,680,564 photos on the Web site. Even the nitpicky person should be able to find a few to download. Wallmaster is another program where you can change the Desktop wallpaper to change at time intervals (e.g., every 10 minutes) and customize the wallpaper position (tile, center, fit to screen, auto fit, or custom). You can download Wallpaper Packs and check the Wallpaper Vault for more pictures. Winwall supports BMP, GIF, JPG and PNG images and changes wallpaper at startup, random time intervals, or assigned time intervals. Pictures can be selected randomly or consecutively. You can also add visual effects to the wallpaper. These three should be plenty to turn your monitor into to a kaleidoscope. [Meryl]

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