'Netline News
 Date: February, 2nd 2004
Happy Valentine's Day

  
 From the editor

I hope everyone is staying warm in this extremely cold weather! Winter in Minnesota- you gotta love it! Cuddle up indoors by the fire, TV, or better yet by the computer and take some time to explore this month's newsletter. 
Don't forget February 14th is Valentine's Day so make it a special day for that special someone!!   
The goal of Netline News  is to keep our subscribers informed regarding their Internet connection and to improve their Internet experience. Please let us know how we can enhance your Internet experience even more! netnews@meltel.com
If, however,  you prefer not to receive this newsletter each month, you may be taken off the mailing list at any time.  See unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of this newsletter. Please Do Not Reply to this message.

 Inside this Issue
<> Your Local Help Desk
<> Tech Tips & Tricks
<> Sites of the Month		 <> Thoughts
<> Feature of the month
 <> Internet Classes		 <> This Month's Chronicles
<> Question and Answer
<> Odd Facts
 Your Local Help Desk

Disabling Preview Pane in Outlook Express

Disabling the Preview Pane in your Outlook Express can protect you from various viruses, worms, and now even spam. Some viruses are now spread by simply opening an email. These emails no longer require you to open an attachment in order to infect your computer. Spammers are also using this technique to verify that your email address is valid. By verifying your email address is legit they will then continue to send Spam email to your address.

When the Preview Pane feature is enabled, the email is technically opened up by just highlighting the message in your list of messages. Thus, you cannot delete the email without opening it. Turning off the Preview Pane, allows you to delete suspicious emails without opening them. Below are the steps to turn off this feature.

1. Open Outlook Express
2. Click on the View menu, and select Layout.
3. Uncheck Show Preview Pane
4. Click Apply and OK
Help Desk hours are:

Monday - Friday: 8am to 9pm

Saturday: 10am to 2pm

Phone number: 256-8324     764-8324     597-8324

e-mail: support@meltel.net
Tech Tips & Tricks

Do you have problems opening attachments?  When receiving an attachment, the name of the file will be followed by an abbreviated suffix called a "file extension." This tells the recipient's computer what program to use to open the file. If your computer does not have the program used to open the file you will get an error message and you will not be able to see the attachment.  Here is a list of common email attachments and what they mean:
 

.AIF.......... Audio Interchange File, a sound format used by Macintosh and Silicon Graphics applications
.AVI.......... Microsoft Audio Video Interleaved file for Windows movie
.BMP........ Windows or OSI2 bitmap
.DOC........ Microsoft Works Document
.EPS.......... Encapsulated Postscript Vector graphics
.EXE......... Executable file (program)-These can contain viruses
.GIF.......... Bitmap (CompuServe)
.HTML..... Hypertext Mark-up Language- which is a popular web page format
.JPG......... JPEG bitmap
.MP3........ MPEG-1 audio layer 3, digital/audio compression algorithm
.MPG....... MPEG animation
.PDF.........  Portable Document Format
.PPT.......... PowerPoint presentation file
.ZIP........... Compressed Archive - Zip file
Arm yourself with the information needed to defend yourself from computer viruses.
http://cnet.com/software/0-5067630-8-6319437-1.html
http://www.mcafeeb2b.com/avert/virus-alerts/default.asp
http://www.f-secure.com/
Sites of the Month
http://epicurious.com/
"The World's Greatest Recipe Collection." Type "Valentine" into the "Recipe Search" field and you'll see recipes for dozens of delicious Valentine's Day treats.

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor8/
They are back! Check out the "All Star" Survivor website and get the scoop behind each cast member!

http://www.irs.gov/  - 
Have you filed your federal income tax return yet?

http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/val/-
Valentine Fun for the kids! Here you will find a great site that allows you to enjoy valentine crafts, clipart, books, riddles, games, puzzles, and valentine party activities

www.pampers.com-
Discover your baby's world with product information, pediatric advice, and general tips for caring for your baby.

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/ 
Celebrate Abraham Lincoln's birthday by learning more about Mr. Lincoln's life. This site highlights two collections located at the Library of Congress that feature over 30,000 papers, articles, pamphlets, cartoons, prints, drawings and autographed letters.

http://threestooges.com/ 
If you are frequently called a knucklehead, this is the site for you. It's "The Official Website for Knuckleheads!" Check out the photo gallery, read bios on the boys, download over 250 real Stooges sounds (including the "Curly Shuffle"), watch short films and join the Stooges Fan Club.

Email your favorite website- netnews@meltel.com

Joke of the Month

You might be from Minnesota if...

  • It's ever 60 degrees warmer in your freezer than it is outdoors

  • Your town has an equal number of bars and churches

  • You know how to say Wayzata, Mahtomedi, Edina and Shakopee.

  • Every January, from age 2 to 13, you let your older siblings talk you into putting your tongue on a steel post.

  • You always believed that vacation meant "going up north."

  • You can recite, from memory, more than a half-dozen "Ole and Lena" jokes.

  • Someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there.

Minnesota is a great state...that's why we live here!

Got a joke to share- netnews@meltel.com

Feature of the Month


Don't let bills stress you out
sign up for Auto Pay!

Our automatic payment plan makes paying your telephone bill easy, and convenient  You can have your monthly bill automatically withdrawn from  your checking account, savings account, or applied to your Visa or Master Card. Payments are applied on the 18th of every month an you will still receive your statement in the mail!

Some benefits include:

  • Saves time

  • Saves postage

  • No need to write a check

  • Minimizes the chance of a
    lost or late payment

Click here for Auto Pay form
 


Enter your photo by Feb 13, 2004
and you might receive 
$50!
Photo Contest Rules

Free Internet Classes

Seniors Browsing Only
Melrose High School Library
Feb. 18........7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Seniors Emailing Only
Melrose High School Library
Feb. 20........7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Seniors Browsing Only
Eden Valley High School-Rm 127
Feb. 9........7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Seniors Emailing Only
Eden Valley High School-Rm 127
Feb. 10........7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Beginner Internet Classes
Kimball High School
Media Center
Feb. 24........7:00 - 9:30 p.m.

Call to register and for more info:
Melrose Telephone Company
256-7471        548-3200
597-3333        764-7600


Seniors Browsing Only
Sauk Centre High School Library
Feb. 17.......7:00 - 9:00 pm
 
Seniors Emailing Only
Sauk Centre High School Library
Feb. 19......7:00 - 9:00 pm

 Call to register and for more info:
 351.1460

This Month's Chronicles
Birthstone: Amethyst
Flower:  Violet

 

February 2004
Feb. 1........ National Freedom Day
Feb. 2........ Groundhog Day
Feb. 6........ National Compliment Day
Feb. 8........ Boy Scouts Day
Feb. 12...... Lincoln's Birthday
Feb. 14...... Valentine's Day
Feb. 16...... President's Day
Feb. 22...... Girl Scouts Day
Feb. 23...... Banana Bread Day
Feb. 25...... Ash Wednesday
Feb. 29...... Leap Day

This Day in History
 www.scopesys.com/anyday

 Horoscopes
Aquarius..........1-20 - 2-18
Pisces...............2- 19 - 3- 20

Question and Answer

Question: How do I take a screen shot of the current window on my computer?
Answer: If you're using Windows, you can take a picture of the current window by pressing Alt-Shift-Print Screen. It will copy the window to the clipboard, so you can paste it wherever you want.
On a Mac, you can press Command-Shift-3 to take a picture of the entire screen or Command-Shift-4 to take a picture of whatever area you select with the mouse. The picture will be created and saved on your primary hard disk.

Humor
A smile is a silent Laugh.
A grin is a smile to yourself that shows.
A chuckle is a small laugh, sometime real, sometimes not.
A snicker is a wicked chuckle.
A snigger is a dirty snicker.
A chortle is an old-time, small-time laugh.
And a laugh....a laugh is happiness set to music.

-- William Rotsler
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 Disclaimer
We do not have financial interest in, or endorse, any of the sites, or products offered by the sites, listed in this customer newsletter.   No opinions expressed on these sites should be considered to be the opinion of diversiCOM Mainstreet Communications or it's employees. This is a free service of diversiCOM Mainstreet Communications to enhance your Internet surfing experience.