Everyone, the excitement of the week is the new iMac - flat panel model. It looks quite cool and has some cool new features over older iMacs. Read more about it down below.....and have the best New Year EVER!! Clyde **************************************** New Year's Resolutions Resolutions Reminders - Get free reminders via e-mail http://www.hiaspire.com/newyear/reminder.htm How-To-Keep-Your-New-Years-Resolution http://www.how-to-keep-your-new-years-resolution.com/ We all set them. Most of us forget them by February 1st ;-) This year things will be different. I'll be using these 2 great services to help me in my goals. One personal goal is to meditate at least 3 times/week by the end of February. A professional goal is to double the subscription of this newsletter every 6 months. I'll keep you posted on the progress of each NY resolution. To accomplish this second goal, I need you, my loyal reader, to forward this newsletter on to anyone you think might appreciate learning about the world through my non-Harry Potter glasses. People who may want to learn a bit more about their computers and the world  at large through the lens of a computer guy. Either forward this a newsletter or have them subscribe at www.itmcomputing.com . MS Office XP Alternatives StarOffice 5.2 - Free - Linux, Solaris, Windows http://www.sun.com/products/staroffice/index.html Software602 - Free - Windows http://www.software602.com/products/ WordPerfect® Family Pack 3 - Windows http://www3.corel.com/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+FTContentServer?pagename=Corel/Product/Highlight&id=CC1J0MNOVDD&highlight=inthebox Apple - AppleWorks - $79 - Apple http://www.apple.com/appleworks/ Tired of fattening Bill Gate's wallet with $200-$450 per version of MS Office, when you're probably getting about $80/$90 worth of upgrade? Well, a way to vote against the monopoly is to try a different product which works the same as his product (which he developed based on "WordStar" and "Visicalc"). These products are for the most part MS Office-compatible and can be opened and modified with other users who have MS Office products.  They all have their plusses and minuses. Try them all! Grab StarOffice today as Sun may change "free" status once they release 6.0, which is due out soon. Fun Stuff BIG EYE PAGE #1 - fun random surfing http://www.bigeye.com/bigeye1.htm Find a site on here...click on it..have some fun. No order  - just chaos. Hangman http://puzzles.about.com/cs/hangman/index.htm And you thought there was just one version of hangman! Look here and find loads of them, including a kid's version, a film version, several bible versions, and even an ESL version. Computing With Kids - Choosing kid's software http://www.computingwithkids.com/ Loads of reviews on popular games for kids. Extensive archive for missed articles dating way back to July 2000! New iMac - Flattened & Beautified TIME.com - Apple's New Core http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101020114/cover.html Apple - The new iMac http://www.apple.com/imac/ Jobs: Flat-panel iMacs on the way http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-8394595.html New iMac sports flat-panel display http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-8392837.html Extra! Extra! Read all About it! Apple revamps iMac in hopes of boosting sales and causing the death of regular old monitors.  Apple has attached a flat panel monitor and squished the computer into a lamp-like base. The monitor swivels and the new iPhoto product which automagically loads digital sets of film directly on the computer by roll is cool. Will it crush the PC or gain Apple market share? You decide by reading the above articles and experiencing the machine yourself. Apple has finally addressed one of my biggest annoyances, their price on their entry level iMac. Although it won't be shipping until March, it is comparable to a similarly outfitted Dell computer with 15" flat panel monitor. On the downside, it is very cheap of Apple to only have 90 days of tech support. New Quickbooks Quickbooks 2002 http://www.quickbooks.com/products-services.html Intuit has once again updated Quickbooks. They've added a new version, Quickbooks 2002 Premiere, which has loads of new features, including remote access (careful on this one, though, as it looks like you have to go through Intuit's server), special offers with other subscribers allowing tighter integration with Time Clock providers and more reports/journal entry options. You now have 4 different ways to use Quickbooks. I've been using Quickbooks since version 6 and I love the product. I recommend it only for business clients, though, and Quicken for home users and some small businesses. If you're unclear which version to choose or  which product you need, drop me a line. SPAM - What can I do to combat it? I'll be covering SPAM, Privacy and Pop Up Banner Ads at the end of the next few newsletters. SPAM for those of you who don't know it, is those annoying, unsolicited e-mails you get about enlarging this or reducing that or copying DVD software, etc....  I've started tracking my SPAM just to see how much I get on my main accounts. So far this year, I've received 28 of them. Many of you are saying, "Wow!" Some because you feel like 4/day is a lot, others feel 4/day is trivial. Tip #1 - Register your own domain name By using the default e-mail account you receive from your Internet provider, like @aol.com, @pacbell.net, @earthlink.net, @attbi.com, you will be easy prey to SPAMers.  They have a way to send SPAM to everyone at a specific e-mail provider's address.  Some of you, I know, get 10-15 pieces of SPAM (or more) per day. I would suggest you get your own domain name (I can help you get this set up if you wish) and have your e-mail hosted. If you just get a domain name and have it forwarded to your current e-mail address this defeats the purpose. You want to sign up with a domain service which also gives you a Pop3 e-mail account. I've set up several clients this way and they have great success with decreasing SPAM. Another great thing about having your own e-mail address @somethingyouchoose.com is that if you set filters right, you can make sure SPAMers who send to allusers@somethingyouchoose.com get bounced back to SPAMmer and you'll never see it. Take care and have a great January! ************************ Hope you enjoyed the ride.... Clyde Lerner, In The Moment Computing Phone: 408.732.8500 E-mail comments/feedback to: http://www.itmcomputing.com/contact_computer.php This newsletter is a service of In The Moment Computing and is Copyright 2005 Clyde Lerner. All worldwide rights reserved. If forwarding, please forward all of e-mail, not any portion therein. To see past issues of This and That Computer Tips newsletter, please visit the web at: http://www.itmcomputing.com/newsletter.php and click on "Archives." Please note: Unless requested, questions pertaining to this newsletter will be answered in a 3-4 week time frame. If you need a faster response, there will be a small consultation fee of $15 per e-mail response. You will receive a reply within 48 hours. "Complete Computer Help (Networks, New Computer Installs, Software Training) for Individuals and Small Businesses" "Designing your Perfect Website, at an Affordable Cost, in a Timely Manner" Eliminate and Destroy unwanted email: http://spamarrest.com/affl?1337207 Send a greeting card through the Internet so recipient gets card in their postal mailbox: www.sendoutcards.com/7197 - let me walk you through how to send a card - it's easy. ©2002 In The Moment (ITM) Computing. All rights reserved.