CompuNotes - We now have forums on the website! See below! Notes from The Cutting Edge of Personal Computing ISSN: 1525-4534 February 15, 2002 Issue 174 In this issue we have the second part of Search Engine tips, reviews of the websites MemoWare and NEWSGEEK.net and reviews of Take Command and JetLog! +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= To subscribe, send an e-mail to compunotes-subscribe@topica.com To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to compunotes-unsubscribe@topica.com or send an e-mail to listserv@peach.ease.lsoft.com with the following SIGNOFF COMPUNOTES-L +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= CONTENTS 1=> Reminder about changes to CompuNotes ... By Patrick Grote, mailto:pgrote@compunotes.com 2=> This Issue's Winner! Clickables: 3=> Reviews of MemoWare and NEWSGEEK.net, Reviewed By: Patrick Grote Articles: 4=> Top Tips from Some of the Best Search Engine Optimizers in the Business Part 2 . . . Learn from the Pros in this Informative Article! By Robin R. Nobles, mailto:robin@robinsnest.com Reviews: 5=> Product: Take Command 32 v3.01, Reviewed By: Howard Carson, mailto:agitater@compunotes.com 6=> Product: JETLOG 24x7 PowerNap Module (Handspring Visor module), Reviewed By: Howard Carson, mailto:agitater@compunotes.com --- Why not suggest CompuNotes to a friend, family member or co-worker? You can win $10,000 and they have a chance to win each week with great information! Please click: http://www.recommend-it.com/l.z.e?s=864865 --- 1=> Reminder about CompuNotes' Changes, By Patrick Grote, pgrote@compunotes.com Just wanted to touch on a few things that have changed concerning CompuNotes in the year 2002: 1) You can help us grow! Forward a copy of CompuNotes to a friend that you think would like to read it. Put up a link to CompuNotes on your website. Mention articles you read in CompuNotes in online discussions. We appreciate each and every time you refer someone to CompuNotes. We wouldn't be here without a fantastic subscriber base! You can also click on the Recommend It link: http://www.recommend-it.com/l.z.e?s=864865 If you use the link you get a chance to win $10,000. 2) Advertising free. Except for CompuNotes promos, the newsletter is now advertising free. The website is also advertising free except for products or services that we personally use. We don't make any money off the banners or links you click on. The only exception to this is the Amazon link. If you like a review and want to buy a book through Amazon you can use the link. We get a few cents from each book bought through us. The money we make goes towards paying for some of the hosting and postage costs we incur. 3) We advertise for you. If you have a great website that will honestly help our readers, let us know. We'd love to include your banner on our site at no cost. 4) Contribute Your Knowledge or Opinion - We're always looking for new writers to review products and author great articles for our readers. Writing experience is not necessary and it's a great way to interact. 2=> Winner! This week's winner: Joe Champlain! Would you like to win something just for subscribing? We give away a prize each and every week to one of our subscribers. Who knows, it could be you! You could win next week ... all you have to do is subscribe! 2=> Clickables ... Review of MemoPad and NEWSGEEK.net, Reviewed By: Patrick Grote Welcome to the new Clickables for CompuNotes. Clickables are neat, useful sites that we appreciate and know you will as well. Each of the sites we present will find a way into your bookmarks. In this column we're looking at MemoWare ( http://www.memoware.com/index.html) and NEWSGEEK.net ( http://www.newsgeek.net/index.php). MEMOWARE (http://www.memoware.com) ---------------------------------- If you own a Palm Pilot or another PDA this site is for you! MemoWare is the source for free books, text, manuals and other documents. When you first enter MemoWare you can be overwhelmed. There are numerous categories of text ranging from Business to Westerns. From Career to Theatre, every subject is covered. The documents are presented in a multitude of formats. Most of the readers needed for the documents are not free, so you'll have to purchase the reader for the document you want. At first this struck me as going against the feel of the site. Eventually I came to understand that book texts often include complete databases such as restaurant guides, computer command references, etc. The site is laid out nicely and you can find what you need right away. Navigating the site through either the subject categories or the two search options couldn't be more intuitive. The Power Search is as useful of a tool as your car! You can search on the following characteristics: Specific Words Date Document was Added Specific Category Format of Documents PDA Platform Language The speed of the site is fast as the graphics are kept to a minimum and the text is aligned properly. How does MemoWare acquire all these texts? From the gracious public who either: a) authors their own documents, or b) converts existing documents or books into a supported reader format. Before you begin to worry, the site has an excellent primer on Copyrights. If you have any questions about what may be copyrighted you can e-mail the webmaster and he'll let you know. http://www.memoware.com/mw-helpc.htm The site does reward frequent contributors by publishing their Hall Of Fame page. It's a great way to show folks appreciation for their efforts. http://www.memoware.com/mw-hof.htm If you're worried you'll miss new documents, the site has a newsletter you can join to let you know when new documents are added. What a great, friendly touch! When you review the documents in a category you are shown the following: Description Date Added Category Download Format PDA Size Contributor There is a little confusion here because you have to click on the DOWNLOAD FORMAT link to get the document . One would think that the DOWNLOAD FORMAT link would be the program for reading the document. My first visit to the site was a little frustrating. It took me ten minutes to find the page that listed the readers I may need. There isn't a link to the readers from the document page. The only thing I couldn't find on the site that I thought would make it even more valuable was a forum; some place to leave messages for other users of the web site concerning issues, searches for documents, etc. Advertising on the site is minimal and topic related. The site is spectacular overall and is a must for anyone who enjoys reading books or documents on their PDA while passing the time in an airport, attending boring meetings, or relaxing. NEWSGEEK.net (http://www.newsgeek.net) -------------------------------------- Hi, my name is Patrick and I am a news junkie. Hi, Patrick. Yep, I am one of those folks who loves Internet news sites. When I wake up in the morning the first four sites I look at are MSNBC, Slashdot, ESPN and NEWS.COM. You can now add NEWSGEEK.net to the list. The simple premise behind NEWSGEEK.net makes it an exciting and valuable addition to your bookmarks. NEWSGEEK.net brings you the best of technology and normal mainstream news headlines. Big deal, right? Oh, but there is so much more. Register as a new user when you first visit the site. This unlocks the ability to configure your site experience. You can configure your favorites, geekmarks, avatar and even send private messages to other users. Favorites allow you to note which NEWSGEEK links you like the most, while geekmarks allow you to create links to sites. A geekmark can also be used as your opening page of the day. The avatar is a little graphic used to represent your personality when you add comments to the headlines. Private messages come in handy when you want to discuss a headline with another user. The site is simple in design and very fast. It runs off a database back end, which means that the content is presented to you dynamically. When you come back to the site it's very easy to see the new headlines as they appear in a different color. When you click on a headline a new page opens in your browser and the original story from the original web site is shown in a NEWSGEEK frame. When this first happened I was a little irritated, but upon further review I found two things: a) there is a link at the top to remove the frame (which changes the URL from a NEWSGEEK URL to the original URL), and b) the frame is not used for advertising, but has two links that come in handy. One allows you to read current comments on the headline and the other allows you to post a comment. I am usually not a big supporter of frames, but this works well. If you'd like to participate in gathering links that appear, you can click on the SUBMIT LINK button and a group of editors review your submission. If it meets their criteria it'll be added. One of the best things about this is that guidelines are provided, the most important one being a witty title. NEWSGEEK drips with witty titles, so bring your best. The site has other nice touches such as a meter which shows the current load on the server so that you can tell if it's you or the site that is slow. You can also click on TODAY IN HISTORY for an update on what happened and you can click on TOP 10 to see the top headlines from today and the past. There is nothing missing from NEWSGEEK. They even have code you can add to your own site to show the current NEWSGEEK headlines. Advertising on the site is modest with a top, middle and bottom banner and a right-hand skyscraper. All ads are small and load quickly. The skyscraper ad shows technology products from Amazon. All in all if you like headlines and like to "be in the know" then NEWSGEEK.net is for you! 4=> Top Tips from Some of the Best Search Engine Optimizers in the Business . . . Learn from the Pros in this Informative Article! By Robin R. Nobles, mailto:robin@robinsnest.com (This is part two of a two part article. Part two will be published next week.) Newsletters, Forums, and Lists * The best thing you can do to help your search engine efforts is to stay informed via newsletters and forums. Some of those will cost a great deal of money, and others will be free, but staying informed of search engine developments is important. (Brett Tabke with Webmaster World http://www.webmasterworld.com) * Participate in discussion forums. Promote on Usenet via your sig file if you can answer (or ask) questions in areas you are either proficient or at least interested in. Contribute to mailing lists. (Ralph Tegtmeier, a.k.a. Fantomaster http://fantomaster.com/) Online Marketing * Generate lots of fresh, useful content. Keep your blatant marketing activities on economy drive (pardon the pun), be subtle about your promotion. People will notice, and will favor, less dumb hysteria, more openness, and honesty. Admit to mistakes if you make them (as you're bound to), but don't cringe and don't give the impression of reacting self-assertive or self- deprecating for the heck of it. If you can, issue a newsletter of your own. Never mind if you only have yourself, your wife and your stepmother for subscribers - put it on site and submit it to the engines. They simply adore that sort of all-text stuff! (Ralph Tegtmeier, a.k.a. Fantomaster http://fantomaster.com/) * Search engine optimization in only one aspect of a well rounded promotion campaign. That campaign should slowly broaden into more traditional avenues. Search engines aren't the formula for long term site success - it's up to your site to produce repeat visitors. (Brett Tabke with Webmaster World http://www.webmasterworld.com) * Make sure your top scoring pages include a call to action. This is not difficult or time consuming but it can make a real difference in getting results. You can easily provide a visitor with some sort of reason to take action now. If it is done well, you can even have customers place a order from a doorway or gateway information page. Every business is different of course, but if you don't believe it, give it some thought and try it. At the very least, experiment with placing your toll free phone number (if applicable) on your top ranking pages. I have a number of clients that do a really great business with a toll free number displayed prominently on their top ranking pages. One of the easiest ways to prompt action is to purposely leave an important piece of information off of your site. At first this does not sound too professional, but really think about it. If they are impressed with your site content, obviously the depth of your content has gained you some respect and credibility with the reader.... so just leave one vital bit of information out. This may start more phone calls and e-mail responses than you expect but it's one of the easiest ways to trigger response. You see, from those e-mails and phone calls, you can now enter further dialogue with the visitor and this will often result in the visitor becoming a customer. (John Alexander with Beyond-SEO.com http://www.beyond-seo.com/) Pay Engines * Open your wallet. If you have the money, paid placement and paid inclusion programs can be a fast, easy way to get good listings or better representation. But even if you have money, don't forget to do all the basic things that can help you get plenty of traffic for free. (Danny Sullivan with Search Engine Watch http://www.searchenginewatch.com) Relevancy * There are countless tips for optimizing your page's content so that it will be more "relevant" to a given search. Each engine ranks pages differently, so most tips are not universal. However, there is one tip that overrides them all: Create pages that emulate the "statistics" of pages that already rank at or near the top of the search results. These statistics include: a) Frequency of the keywords on the page. Tip: This does not mean more keywords are better. b) Total words on the page. Tip: Mimic the approximate number of words of a top ranking page on your own page. c) Weight of the keywords on the page. (i.e. frequency divided by the total words) Tip: Too high a weight is just as bad as too low a weight. d) Area or location of the keywords on the page. (i.e., title, heading, etc.) Tip: A keyword is given more relevance by an engine when the keyword appears in the engine's "preferred" areas. e) Prominence. Tip: Generally, the closer to the front of the area you can place the keyword, the better. f) Proximity. Tip: The closer that the words of a phrase appear together, the better. g) Off-page criteria. (i.e., link popularity, click through popularity, etc.) Tip: Even when you've done everything else right, don't forget the off-page factors! (Brent Winters with FirstPlace Software http://www.webposition.com) * For best positioning, content should be placed at the top of a page. However, for splash pages or pages without any content, content can be added at the very bottom and the scroll bar can be hidden to prevent a visitor from reading the optimized content. (David Johnson and Annam Manthiram with Position Research http://www.positionresearch.com) * Keep the graphics low and the content high. All engines do two things: index text and follow links. Give the spiders the opportunity to do just that. Keep the content as high on the page as possible and give relevant links to quality content either on or off-site. The HTML title should be focused and accurately represent the content of the page. (Marshall Simmonds with About.com http://www.about.com/) * If you run a regional business where most of your business is local, it's critical that you include your full company address on every page of your site. Otherwise people could search for "Ford dealer in Chicago" and you'd not appear if your company address is buried only on your contact page. Also take advantage of "proximity" by putting the word Chicago as close to the phrase Ford dealer as possible. Lastly, make sure the address is in text form since search engines can't read your address out of a graphical logo on your page. (Brent Winters with FirstPlace Software http://www.webposition.com) Simplicity * Keep things simple. Write good content and titles, and use text links either as your main navigation or in conjunction with graphic buttons, image maps or flash menus. It's ok to use Flash animation on your site, but if you use it on your index page, be sure to integrate it with content so the search engines can index your home page. Also consider making your Flash animations smaller where possible, such as banner size. They are much easier to integrate into a page with content. Flash does not have to dominate the page to be effective or add pizzazz to your site. (Bill Gentry with Look Sharp Designs - wgentry@lvcm.com) * Did I mention keeping things simple? General optimization will get you good results without a lot of extra time or effort. (Bill Gentry with Look Sharp Designs - wgentry@lvcm.com) Site Maps * Web Ignite recommends the creation of a site map page that includes plain text links to as many pages within your site as possible. This will increase the ability of search engines to spider your site and can result in more of your pages being listed. A plain text link to the site map should appear on all pages. (Paul Bruemmer with Web Ignite http://www.web-ignite.com) Software Programs * Consider getting SE Optimizer (http://www.se-optimizer.com). It's a snappy little tool to help you with your optimization efforts and helps remind you of all those things you ought to try to do every time you optimize a page. (I am not an affiliate of SE Optimizer or AWCS trying to sell you this program. I just really like it and think it belongs in every optimizer's tool box.) (Bill Gentry with Look Sharp Designs - wgentry@lvcm.com) Spamming * AltaVista has been vocal lately with the statistic that approximately 95% of all submissions are spam. Therefore, take the time and effort to learn what search engines consider spam and do everything in your power to avoid these violations. It will save much grief if optimization and submission are done properly the first time. (Marshall Simmonds with About.com http://www.about.com/) Stylesheets * Consider using a stylesheet to redefine html tags and define custom classes. Also make this an external .css file and link to it in the head. Doing so will streamline your source code and make future site-wide style changes much easier. Also, consider using layers instead of tables to further streamline your source code. Streamlining your source code will make it more search engine friendly and your pages will also load faster. (Bill Gentry with Look Sharp Designs - wgentry@lvcm.com) * Use linked Cascading Style Sheets creatively. Using CSS, you can custom define how your HTML tags display text and links, which is a powerful optimization advantage. (J.K. Bowman with Spider Food http://www.spider-food.net) Tags * Properly done TITLE and META tags at the top of the homepage HEAD section are crucial to your SEO efforts. When applicable, all frameset component pages should contain those tags as well. Properly done ALT text tags are suggested for images. (Paul Bruemmer with Web Ignite http://www.web-ignite.com) * Take one minute, at least, and eyeball every page in your site when you make it, in order to write a descriptive 7-15 word HTML title. Think newspaper headlines! You want to grab the readers' attention when they see this title in search engine results and convince them to click through, though you don't want to be misleading. Look at the page, think of the top 1 or 2 terms you'd like it to be found for, then incorporate those words into a title. Don't worry if you go longer than 15 words or shorter than 7. Those aren't limits; just guidelines from my experience on making your titles attractive to readers. What about meta tags? Use the first sentence or two on your page for your meta description tag's content, and in the meta keywords tag, list any important keywords you think the page should be found for and which ALSO appear in the HTML copy of that page. (Danny Sullivan with Search Engine Watch http://www.searchenginewatch.com) * You need to create titles and descriptions that are focused on getting that click, not just on keyword density. The more clicks you can get, I guarantee you the more popular your site will be. (Ginette Degner with ServiceBrokers.com http://www.servicebrokers.com) Themes * Before you touch one line of code, make sure that you have diligently defined your Web site. You should be able to say, "My Web site is about _____ ______ ______" without any hesitation. You will be able to optimize for many keyword phrases, but this single one, two or three keyword phrase theme should resonate on every page. (J.K. Bowman with Spider-Food http://www.spider- food.net) * Use lots of text on each page [over one hundred words], specific to one extremely narrow theme. (Rocky Rawstern) * The primary technique for good positioning is rich, robust visible text. A theme page is much better than a doorway page, since it emphasizes relevant body copy. (David Johnson and Annam Manthiram with Position Research http://www.positionresearch.com) * Create a themed mini-library that pays off in big numbers of targeted traffic! Using WordTracker, find an appropriately related "hot topic" for your Web site. What I like to do is to build a little group of information rich, top ranking pages and fashion them into a little mini-library (6 to 20 pages), all with slightly different variations of that hot topic. They are all linked together with a separate topical index page. The key to success is to first research the best keyword phrases (high KEI values), then build quality content (the stuff that folks love to learn about). Only use topics that appropriately apply to the overall theme of the site. Each content-rich "library page" should also employ creative text links into different parts of your main pages. You want lots of horizontal "click throughs" to your entire site. Make sure each optimized page within your themed library is for a DIFFERENT or slightly different phrase. Also ensure your library pages are not just slapped together from a template. Each library page should have a unique layout and differing content to avoid penalization with anti-spam filters. The result is a flood of targeted traffic to the "library" which can then move throughout your entire Web site. (John Alexander with Beyond-SEO.com http://www.beyond-seo.com/) Tracking * As you learn more about search engine marketing, you'll discover it is not an exact science. Some of your pages will rank well the first time out, and some will not. In addition, your rankings will fluctuate, calling for tweaks in design from time to time. Therefore, as with any marketing strategy, you need a method to measure your progress. In this case, you need a convenient way to report your rankings for each keyword and engine you're targeting, and to track the number of visitors to your Web site, along with where they came from. WebPosition Gold (http://www.webposition.com) helps you manage and automate both these essential tasks. (Brent Winters with FirstPlace Software http://www.webposition.com) Web Design * Design the Web site with the search engines in mind. Use text links especially if you have image maps or frames, etc. (Ginette Degner with ServiceBrokers.com http://www.servicebrokers.com) A special thanks to the following Search Engine Optimizers who were willing to share their tips for this article (listed in alphabetical order): * John Alexander is a Professional SEO who operates an independent Internet consulting business in affiliation with WorldSites.Net (http://www.Worldsites.net). John also owns Beyond-SEO.com (http://www.beyond-seo.com/), a Web site devoted to professional SEO's looking for tips beyond the basics. * J.K. Bowman is the Editor of Spider-Food.net (http://www.spider-food.net), one of the largest tutorial resources on the Web for search engine optimization and Web site promotion techniques. He currently lives in Mississippi, where he also provides consultancy and positioning services. * Paul J. Bruemmer is CEO of Web-Ignite Corporation (http://www.web-ignite.com), a search engine traffic agency. Founded in 1995, Web-Ignite provides search engine traffic for Fortune 1000 dot-coms and for B2B and e-commerce sites. * Ginette Degner operates Service Brokers (http://www.servicebrokers.com), a Web Optimization and Marketing Strategies firm providing expert search engine placement and consultation services since 1993. * Bill Gentry is a Professional Search Engine Marketer and the owner of Look Sharp Designs, a Web design and optimization firm located in Las Vegas. He's in the process of creating a new site, but he can be reached now at wgentry@lvcm.com. * David Johnson and Annam Manthiram are Search Engine Research Specialists with Position Research (http://www.positionresearch.com), a search engine optimization firm that considers "research" an integral part of optimizing Web sites. * Rocky Rawstern is a Senior Search Engine Analyst with a prominent search engine optimization company on the West coast. * Marshall Simmonds is the Director of Search for About, Inc. (http://www.about.com/), a division of parent company PRIMEDIA Inc. Marshall is responsible for maximizing search engine exposure for About's 700 topic sites which cover 1,000,000 articles. He also oversees search engine strategies for Primedia's online properties, such as Americanbaby.com and Seventeen.com. * Danny Sullivan, Editor of Search Engine Watch (http://www.searchenginewatch.com), is often considered the Internet's "search engine guru." He has been helping Webmasters, marketers and everyday Web users understand how search engines work for half a decade. * Brett Tabke of PHD Software Systems is also the owner of Webmaster World Forums (http://www.webmasterworld.com) and Search Engine World (http://www.searchengineworld.com/), extremely popular informational sites designed "by Webmasters for Webmasters." * Ralph Tegtmeier is the co-founder and principal of fantomaster.com Ltd. (UK) and fantomaster.com GmbH (Belgium) (http://fantomaster.com/), a company specializing in Webmasters software development, industrial-strength cloaking and search engine positioning services. He has been a Web marketer since 1994 and is editor-in-chief of fantomNews, a free newsletter focusing on search engine optimization, available at: http://fantomaster.com/fantomnews-sub.html. * Brent Winters is the President of FirstPlace Software, Inc. and author of the highly popular MarketPosition Newsletter. FirstPlace Software develops and markets WebPosition Gold (http://www.webposition.com), the first software product to track your rankings on the major search engines and to help you improve those rankings. Robin Nobles is a professional freelance writer and the Director of Training of the Academy of Web Specialists, where she teaches online courses in search engine marketing strategies. http://www.academywebspecialists.com/more_info. She also teaches onsite search engine marketing workshops with John Alexander ( http://www.beyond-seo.com/workshop.htm), and she has written three books that can be ordered through Amazon. Links to Robin's Books: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0761528423/qid=1012928730/sr= 8-1/ref=sr_8_3_1/102-3796987-3315313/compunotes/ http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1580623697/qid=1012928730/sr= 8-2/ref=sr_8_3_2/102-3796987-3315313/compunotes/ Copyright 2002 Robin Nobles. All rights reserved. 4=> Product: Take Command 32 v3.01 Reviewed By: Howard Carson, mailto:agitater@compunotes.com Requires: x86 CPUs running any version of MS Windows 95, 98, ME, NT 4.0, 2000, or XP; IBM PC, PS/2, or compatible with 386 or above MSRP: US$69.95 (download version w/o printed manual) JP Software has developed several command line products called command processors. Each product - 4DOS (the best known), 4NT, 4OS2 and Take Command 32 - offers similar sets of features designed to make your work easier and more productive at the command prompt and in batch files. The main differences between each product are the type of command processor (text mode or GUI), and the platform or operating system. All display a command prompt (C:\> or [C:\]), accept and execute the commands you type and support batch files. All of the products offer hundreds of command line and batch file enhancements over the default command processor (DOS prompt) in your operating system. Take Command 32 is at the top of the heap functionality-wise, bringing users the best of both worlds: a powerful command line utility which is fully integrated into the Windows and OS/2 graphical environments. I hate the command line. I'm not an IS/IT manager and I'm a terrible, amateur programmer. I've never had the time or inclination to learn the myriad DOS commands needed to effectively query and manage computer systems and data files. Give me a copy of Windows Explorer (or better yet PowerDesk 4 - which I *really* wish OnTrack would update!) any day. But after receiving Take Command 32 for review, I resolved to find out just how powerful a well-used command line can really be. Clearly written printed manual and online help in-hand, I spent a week and a half with Take Command 32, forcing myself into command line habits. So what can you do in Take Command 32? Try this: 1 - Copy, delete, and rename individual files and directories or groups of files and directories. 2 - Change the drive and directory in a single command ('CDD [path]' - very handy!). Extended Directory Searches allow you to change to a directory anywhere on your system by entering only part of its name. 3 - Quickly locate files or text within files anywhere on your system. 4 - Use the built-in file viewer with scrolling, search, and print capabilities. 5 - Select or exclude files by date, time, size, and/or extended wildcards. 6 - Redefine commands, create new commands for regular tasks, assign frequently used commands to a single keystroke. 7 - File descriptions up to 511 characters long. 8 - For you network managers there's full-loop control, error handling, and single step operation for debugging. The batch file debugger can execute each line step by step, process or trace into additional batch files, and display variables, aliases, and expanded commands at each step. 9 - Box and line drawing capabilities and colorized text displays simplify creation of menus and screens. 10 - Dozens of built-in variables for system configuration, device status, network drive detection, free memory and disk space. 11 - About 90 variable functions for manipulation and display of strings, characters, numbers, date and time, file names, etc. 12 - Start graphical and character-mode applications and run console utilities within the Take Command window. 13 - Built-in screen buffer lets you scroll back to past commands at any time. 14 - Customizable toolbar to provide quick access to frequently used commands and applications. 15 - Find File dialog lets you search quickly for files or text anywhere on your system or search from the command line with the FFIND command. 16 - Quickly create batch files for handling disk tasks. There are dozens of variables for managing system configuration and resources, and many more variable functions for the manipulation and display of strings, file names and others. You can even control GUI applications from batch files. 17 - Full toolbar system with access to utilities, console sessions and a Find Files/Text function. There's a scrollback buffer for quickly recalling output from past commands. 18 - Take Command 32 supports all commands and features available in 4DOS, 4NT, and 4OS2 (and their batch files). 19 - Command line editing. The verdict? Once you begin to learn the enhanced command set and batch capabilities available in Take Command 32, managing large volumes of files becomes child's play. I'm not giving it up - it's almost always faster and more efficient than Explorer and DOS combined. Cons: Problems are few - little complaints only. All references to FTP URLs must always be in double quotes ('"'); use forward slashes ("/") as path separators. The documentation does not always make this clear. The docs would also benefit by providing some batch file tutorials. Caveman (which installs with Take Command and enables DOS programs to run within the Take Command window) did not like complex DOS software at all. Programs such as TranslateIt just killed it. A variety of text editors, simple spreadsheets, simple graphing utilities, etc., worked just fine however. Pros: Excellent command line utility. Far exceeds the functionality of Windows command prompt. Robust online help. Full command line editing. Alias support (shortcuts) for frequent commands, and the ability to redefine and assign commands to single keystrokes. GUI supports cut & paste (via Windows clipboard), dialogs and drop-down menus. Control GUI applications from your batch files. Very nice file management features such as filters to include or exclude files by date, time, size and type. Built-in file viewer complete with scroll, print and search options. IS/IT Manager? Computer Technician? TechnoGeek? Managing large volumes of files? Tired of having to choose between command line and graphical interface? Take Command 32 is an excellent solution. Highly recommended. JP Software Take Command 32 Product Web site: http://www.jpsoft.com 5=> Product: JETLOG 24x7 PowerNap Module (Handspring Visor module) Reviewed By: Howard Carson, mailto:agitater@compunotes.com Requires: Any Handspring Visor which accepts Springboard modules. MSRP: US$99.99 JETLOG Corporation has developed a Springboard module for Handspring Visor PDAs which can be used to help analyze your Circadian Rhythms (body clock), schedule power naps, and wake you up after appropriate sleep/nap intervals have passed. The module features an earphone jack, an external sensor jack, and a module-mounted contact sensor. The product package contains bud-style earphones, an external sensor cable, the module and a printed user manual. The JETLOG 24x7 PowerNap module is based in part on the NASA Ames Research Center studies into so-called Fatigue Countermeasures. The studies were predicated on limited periods of time (hours, days, weeks or a couple of months at most), during which highly trained civilian and airforce pilots attempted to operate at peak or near-peak performance. The PowerNap module plugs into the Handspring PDA Springboard slot and loads its own software automatically. Tap the PowerNap button, place your thumb on the external sensor, go to sleep. You can set alarm intervals limiting nap duration, alarms to begin naps, adjust to different time zones (to compensate for jet lag), or reset the whole thing to a factory default timer interval. The functionality is straightforward - as you fall asleep, your hand relaxes and falls away from contact with the sensor. When that happens, the module software silently counts down the alarm interval (e.g.: the default setting of 40 minutes), then sets off the audible alarm to wake you up. In order to assess this thing, you need to have some basic sleep science definitions. Slow Wave Sleep: this is the 1st or 2nd deep stage of non-Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep (no dreaming). REM sleep - an intermediate to late sleep stage characterized by dreaming of all kinds. Sleep Inertia - the biological need to come to wakefulness only via a natural awakening process which occurs properly after sufficient rest. Fatigue - a decreased ability to do physical and mental work because of tiredness. Circadian Rhythm/Time - the body's natural internal clock which dictates the natural rest cycle. It all hangs together like this: Circadian Rhythm triggers the sleep reflex. Failure to rest triggers Fatigue which interrupts Circadian Rhythm, which in turn aggravates and lengthens subsequent Sleep Inertia. Unrequited Fatigue and Sleep Inertia result in mental and physical errors which lead to all sorts of other problems (including difficulty achieving REM sleep, lower resistance to disease and infection, higher stress, and so on). Get it? It's simple really. There is a serious contemporary conflict between the biological imperative for sleep and the social demand for performance at work. A few million years of human species development has resulted in a) 99.999% of everyone feeling the need to rest after the sun has set, b) 99.999% of everyone feeling at least the occasional need for a nap during the workday, c) 99.999% of everyone feeling fatigue and serious tiredness no matter how many years they've worked the night shift, d) 99.999% of every adult between the ages of 25 and 60 (or so) requiring an average of 8 hours sleep per night (the more hours before midnight, the better). In North America, Europe, Japan and most of the industrialized nations we don't get enough sleep. On average we're about 90 minutes short every night. Stop watching the late show, get to bed no later than 10:30 PM, get up at 6:30 AM. Try it for a while. If you're traveling by airplane, drink lots of water, nod off when you feel like it, stay away from coffee and alcohol. Trust me - your life will improve. Cons: Bad module ergonomics. You have to hold the Handspring Visor with the screen facing down, your thumb touching the sensor contacts at the top of the PowerNap module. It's a bit awkward and the top of the stylus jabs the inside of your thumb which can make falling asleep somewhat problematic. According to every reliable source in medical science, the remedy for stupid work schedules, over-long work hours, work and/or family related stress and fatigue, is simply to get adequate rest on an ongoing and regular basis! If I walk into the office of one of my research assistants and find the person in the midst of a power nap, there will be trouble. I'm not kidding - sleep at home! Ambiguous language in the documentation - a copyedit is urgently needed for better clarity. The NASA Ames studies were never meant to determine long-term remedies to short-term work fatigue or sleep deprivation issues. The module is expensive. Pros: This baby is a nap alarm clock with an EXCUSE! For short periods of time, for some people in difficult work, business, travel or social circumstances, the JETLOG 24x7 PowerNap Module can work. The selectable alarm sounds ramp up gradually in volume - a nice touch. I tried it for a week, picked up a couple of extras 'Zs here and there. It seemed to make a bit of a positive difference on one business trip. If nothing else, the PowerNap module is a fun experiment that will force you to get into the habit of taking a regular, healthy nap. JETLOG JETLOG 24x7 PowerNap Module Product Web site: http://www.jetlog24x7.com +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= Publisher / Senior Editor: Patrick Grote, mailto:pgrote@compunotes.com Senior Editor: Howard Carson, mailto:agitater@compunotes.com Managing Editor: Don Hughes, mailto:don.hughes@compunotes.com Archives: ftp://ftp.compunotes.com/archives Website: e-mail: mailto:feedback@compunotes.com Want to Write for Us?: mailto:agitater@compunotes.com fax: (314) 909-1662 voice: (314) 909-1662 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= CompuNotes is: Available weekly via e-mail and on-line. We cover the PC computing world with comprehensive reviews, news, hot web sites, great columns and interviews. We also give away one software package a week to a lucky winner for just reading our fine publication! Never dull, sometimes tardy, we are here to bring you the computing world the way it is! 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