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Net Gains (Feb 19, 99) |
I may have upgraded my hardware, but keeping software updated
is an ongoing process. While non-techies normally don't even think
about updating software, hard-core do-it-yourselfers spend hours
searching for and updating their software - be it games, latest
versions of software, or drivers for their computer. All that
is slowly becoming history, thanks to the Internet.
Update AnyWare is a website that help you keep your PC
up-to-date and does all the dirty work for you. After registering
yourself for free with the site, it spends sometime profiling
your PC to see what components it would have to keep updated,
and searches for installed software and drivers. That done, it
checks its database of new updates that are available on the Internet.
The site then puts the control back in your hands by showing you
a detailed list of recommended updates, allowing you to choose
what you would like to update and install. After you give it the
go-ahead, Update AnyWare downloads the update from the manufacturer
and installs it for you. Is that hi-tech or is that hi-tech!
Update AnyWare detects and updates video, printer, network, SCSI,
and sound card drivers, besides games, software and ActiveX Controls.
To allow Update AnyWare to profile your PC, you'll have to download
and install a plug-in (675 Kb) for your browser. Be warned though,
while the site offers to do all the searching, recommending and
installing for you, you need to be connected to the Internet while
it does all this. The best time to use Update Anyware is when
you have a long surfing session planned, and can allow the site
to do its work in the background. Another helpful offer is the
regular newsletter you can sign up for that will keep you informed
about the latest updates via email.
Of the most common uses of the Internet is for downloading programs
- whether they're files, games, or software applications. And
one of the most common complaints is that the downloading speeds
are pathetic. If the problem lies in your connection to VSNL (or
your Internet Service Provider), then there's no remedy. But sometimes,
if the server from where you're downloading is slow, you'll end
up spending a lot of unnecessary Internet time downloading the
file. But now, thanks to a site called Em@ilFile, you can
avoid these long waits. When you log onto the site, you have to
give the Internet location of the file you want to download, and
your email address. A few minutes later, that file is sent to
your email address, where you can download it from. While the
site does have an upper limit for the size of files that can be
downloaded (3 Mb), you need to keep in mind that VSNL allows you
a mailbox limit of 1Mb and that bigger emails will bounce back.
The cost of this service? You guessed it - FREE! Thanks to Tarak
Desai for recommending this site.
Our final freebie site this week is EFax - a site that
gives you a free personal fax number within America, when you
register for free. People can send you faxes to this number, even
if you don't have a fax machine, since the site converts the fax
into an email attachment and sends it to your email address. While
this facility is not very useful for us who would like to receive
faxes within India, it could be useful to people like Dr. P K
Jain who pointed it out, who receive faxes from the US. With EFax,
the sender has to bear the cost of a local call, and not an international
call while sending the fax.
And for all of you who made the cardinal mistake of proposing
(often pushed into the decision by those taunting advertisements
by every Gili, Carbon, and Serenade), read about the perils of upgrading from girlfriend to wife…