The number of newsletter subscribers is climbing like crazy - but that means we have a lot of Readers who are new and don't know why they see some strange behaviour when they click on the links in the newsletter to get to the cool websites or the software I talk about.

The way to make it work is this:

Visit the PCGURU Website and sign up as a Member - it's free. 

Being a Member is different to being a Newsletter Subscriber.

If you're not logged into the website as a Member - you won't be able to click on the links successfully.

Having you sign in as a Member gives me a much better indication of who is clicking through and actually getting value from the weekly missive. 

Being a Member also entitles you to use the forum which I encourage all of you to do - it's a great place to chat and help each other out.

I know a lot of you have already done this - but I was surprised to discover 2 people this week that had no idea it was even possible!

Many of you have to wait an eternity everytime you launch your web browser (usually Internet Explorer) because you have a home (or start) page that is complex and takes a while to download.

This is easy to fix!

You can pick ANY page you like as the initial page that loads when you start your web browser.  I personally use Google as it loads almost instantly.  Google also makes it easy to do.  Visit http://www.google.com.au and you will (likely) see an option and the bottom of the page to "Set this as your homepage".

Alternatively, load your preferred start page and then go to TOOLS -> INTERNET OPTIONS.  The first option is to set your home page.  You can choose what you're currently on - or simply set it to blank.

You'd be very surprised how much quicker your browser will start by using something less complex than NineMSN!! 

Feel free to add comments to this DIY if you've got a cool start page! 

In Edition #241 of the PCGURU Newsletter, I asked "When it comes to Customer Support & Service, whether it be from PCGURU or some other professional, what are the things they do that ensure you come back next time?"

We had a lot of responses.  Enough that I needed to create a dedicated page on this site to list them all.

Feel free to go and have a look at what people thought!

I'd be interested in your comments.

Click here to read:  "What makes me go back for more?"

We get regular enquiries from parents wanting to know how to safe-guard their children against inappropriate usage of the home PC.  Well Vista actually steps up a bit here and offers some assistance.

Just go to the Control Panel and select "User Accounts and Family Safety". Click on the link that says "Set up parental controls for any user."

You can then block inappropriate Web sites, set up a time schedule for playing computer games, limit the use of instant-messaging software, and create your own boundaries for browsing the Internet.

 You can even print out an activity report for your child!  Oooh!  Big Brother!

Running two screens used to be seen as something only a geek would do.  Or someone with too much money to spend.  But these days - it's a must-have!

The productivity gains can be enormous!  Even our Accounts people here at PCGURU run 2 screens - it allows them to keep the Accounting Package full-screen on one side and Excel or Outlook on the other.

Many of you would find value in simply being able to keep Outlook - with it's email, calendar, contacts and tasks open all the time very useful.  Especially because you could run Internet Explorer on the other and gather information from web sites while keeping your to-do list right there.