It has been suggested to me to pass along some of the interesting and hopefully useful tweaks and tips I've learned about Windows PCs. So, here goes.
 First, a few things about Netscape. Have you ever been happily surfing along on the Internet and, for no apparent reason, Netscape suddenly stops working? I mean, you click on a link and nothing happens. Try to page back and it doesn't move. This is caused by Netscape encountering some Javascript that it doesn't know how to handle. What to do? You can shut down and reboot which is what most people do, or, you can close Netscape. Then do a "control-alt-delete" (C-A-D) to bring up your "close program" dialogue box. If you scroll through the list of programs that are active in your machine, you will see Netscape is still there. Highlight Netscape and click "end task." Wait for the close box and click on "end task" again. Now you can restart Netscape and go back to surfing. It will work as it should.

Ok, here's another Netscape trick. Ever sit in front of your computer kicking yourself (figuratively) for not bookmarking a Web page and now you can't find it again?  Try this. Go to the "location or Netsite" bar in Netscape (that's where the URL is), remove any information that is there, and type about:cache (just as you see it, no spaces) Now, press the "enter" key. Your screen will blip and then display a list of all the Web site URLs that you have visited since the last time you cleared your cache. They are "hotlinked." Click on the one you want and voila! Off you go. Now, this time bookmark it!  P.S. This is also a handy trick for keeping tabs on what your kids have been up to on the Internet.           
 Getting to the point where you think your PC is too old and too slow and it's time go drop a wad of cash and buy a new one? Try this first. Go to "start, settings, control panel, system, performance, file system."  When you get to the "file system" screen, you will see a line that says "typical roll of this computer." In the box next to that statement you will probably see "desktop computer". Click on the "down arrow" at the end of this box and you will see a few more choices. Select the one that says "network server,." then "OK" your way back out. If your machine asks for a "restart," do so.
 What we gain here is this. A desktop computer configuration is not the optimal performance setting for Windows. Why this is the default setting, I'll never understand. When you tell your PC it's a "network server" (even though it's not), it causes Windows to handle disk caching and memory allocation somewhat differently and you may see some performance improvement. This is not a permanent change and you can always go back.
 One last trick. Ever put a CD-ROM in your machine and it takes off all by itself and starts running its program? Or, ever want to see what's on this type of disk but the silly "splash screen" it starts won't let you?  You can stop this from happening by going to "Start, Control Panel, System." On the system properties screen click on the "Device Manager" tab. Find the CD ROM on this screen. Click on the (+) sign next to the CD ROM. You will get a drop down for the actual device. Highlight this line and click on "properties" at the bottom of the screen. On the properties screen that comes up, click on the "settings" tab and you should see a line that says "auto insert notification." Uncheck that box and CD-ROMs will no longer start as soon as you put them into the drive. That little check box tells windows that when a ROM is put in the drive, check it for an "autorun.ini" file. If it is there, run the program on the disk.
 That's it for now. I'll see if I can find a few more easy tweaks for next month.