About the time of sending out the column, I received confirmation e-mail from a retiree. There was also a second e-mail from him with just an attachment, happy99.exe. Since I knew the person, I stupidly clicked on that file thinking it was some kind of greeting. I saw only a fireworks display.

During that time, I sent e-mail to Don Singleton, who you know from APCUG, asking a question. He quickly responded telling me I had a virus and included an explanation of it. Also some web sites to obtain a free cleaner.

I was horrified to think that I may have had the virus (unknowingly) when I sent my column to the editors. What if I had infected 110 computers unknowingly! The cleaner did its job and revealed that only two people were e-mailed the virus. What a relief! Don was one, and the other person told me she didn't have time to open files like that. I also notified the person who sent it to me.

Since I never have other people's disks in my machine, and am seldom on the Internet, I let my virus subscription lapse. Bet on one thing; I now have virus protection again, and I never click on an .exe file attachment unless I know the source, or virus check it. So much for a bit of luck, if there is any when you get a virus. By the way, the web sites for those particular virus cleaners are:

http://members.tripod.com/~TheMicrosoftMoof/Happy99.html
http://members.tripod.com/docsmiley/happy99.htm
http://www.e-musicbox.com/happy99virus.htm
http://www.newwws.net/epn-33434.html

Should you get e-mail with an attachment called , clicking on it will give a picture of fireworks going off. At the same time, it will give you a virus that acts without your knowledge. Each time you send e-mail, it sends a second e-mail with an attachment (happy99.exe) that infects the recipient's machine, IF THEY CLICK ON IT. Obviously, curiosity will spread this virus rapidly. My sincere thanks to Don Singleton for his prompt help.

Reviewing

I thought I would be criticized for the non-computer item but some people liked it (hot water bypass pump). It is still good, so call them at 1-800-METLUND (638-5863) for more info or to order. I was not happy with the adapter arrangement for my installation and will change it. I'll have sweat soldering to do, but they said my home's plumbing was the exception. The Adobe specials are ongoing for a while. Now for some deals.

How About Another Catalog?

I received a new catalog that I found interesting. It is called "MobilPlanet" and contains laptops, palm computers and many interesting accessories too numerous to mention. It seems to be dedicated almost entirely to portable computing. Some items I knew about from Comdex but have not seen them before in a catalog. Prices were about consistent with what I have seen.

It can be obtained by calling 1-800-675-2638 or fax 1-818-888-3484. Their web site is www.mobileplanet.com.

Inproved PagePlus In Version 5.0

If you took advantage of the incredibly affordable "PagePlus" desktop publishing software a while back, you can now upgrade for just $19.95 + $7.95 S&H. For ten bucks more, you get it with a manual.

The new Ver. 5.0 has Design Wizards, moveable rulers and guides, drag and drop for storage and retrieval, table editor, text effects and logos. (Create unique headlines, mastheads and logos by combining pictures, shapes and special text effects).

Includes an Intelligent (boy do I need that feature) Word Processor that features word count, spell-checker, thesaurus, grammar checker, search and replace, proofreader and text styles. With the Calendar Wizard, you choose from a wide variety of size and design options, then just click and drag to fit your calendar to a column or a whole page. Will wash the dishes, vacuum the floor and, oops, guess I got carried away!

Includes Mail Merge, Layout Checker, New Web Site Creator and other features too numerous to print here. Remember this is an upgrade and I don't know the price otherwise. Call Serif Inc. at 1-800-557-3743 with plastic in hand. It expired Apr.1,'99, but try anyway and mention my column.

Did You Get Your Print Shop Upgrade Letter?

As you can see, I'm reminding you about some special offers that you might not have received for many reasons, such as perhaps you moved, (bulk mail is not forwarded.) This one is for the "Print Shop Version 6 VIP-Upgrade." Just about everybody knows about the famous Print Shop Software.

New are Photo Workshop editing and special effects tools to make photos fantastic. Fix red eye etc.; remove flare, dust and scratches. crop, rotate and many other features for photo editing.

They claim to do newsletters, brochures, reports, resumes, letters, booklets, ads and scores of other desktop publishing capabilities, but couldn't we always do that? Also contains tens of thousands (their words) of images and photos. It has 200 QuickStart Layouts, and drag and drop to place text and images.

You may know that Print Shop is now part of Parsons, which is part of "The Learning Company," via Broderbund. I imagine those people wonder every day who they will be working for when they arrive at work. If you are also a fan of PrintMaster (my next item), it too can be ordered at the same number since it is now part of Parsons Technology. Call 1-800-727-1631 (fax 1-319-395-7449) to order and if you don't have your letter, use the priority code #6899980 (my code, but it will work) to order the upgrade at $19.00 + $6.95 S&H. It also includes Calendar Creator 5.0 FREE.

It's actually a stand-alone product even though it is called an upgrade. Hint; if you order both Print Shop and PrintMaster at once, you will save a bit on shipping.

And Now, Heeerres PrintMaster

As I mentioned above, PrintMaster Delu1xe+2 Ver.7.0 is now available and I hope you received your letter. Some like PrintMaster better, but I'm not partial. Reading their brochure; new in version 7.0 is DrawPlus (popping up more and more), web page publishing tools, online art gallery, BorderPlus, automatic border maker and Year-You-Were-Born.

Improved are: enhanced help system with design wizard, photo enhancer with built-in photo enhancement tools, event reminder, Cartoon-O-Matic funny face maker, address book w/mail merge, project, image and sentiment browsers, design and send e-mail greeting cards and double-sided printing. Access Internet directly from the program and spell checker.

I could go on and on from their brochure, including all the thousands of web-art, clipart, full-color photographs, exclusive original art images, fonts and 300 logos and icons. Call them at 1-800-545-9673 and use priority #999906 to buy PrintMaster Deluxe+2 for just $19.00. You'll also get "Infopedia" FREE. Shipping is $6.95 unless you are also ordering the Print Shop package as well. Only $2.00 then. I received a free gift for their slow shipping.

Now For A Past Item With a Better Deal

A while ago I printed some special offers from "Casady & Greene." SpellCatcher was one of them and they are now offering a much better deal if someone will coordinate the order.

SpellCatcher offers a choice of spell-checking styles. "Interactive Spelling" watches while you type, alerting you when a spelling error, double word, or capitalization error occurs. It makes alternate spelling suggestions on the spot. "Batch Spell-Checking" will check an entire document for errors, then paste all the corrections in at once.

It also reads your shorthand! Speed up your typing by using shorthand macros for your commonly used phrases. SpellCatcher automatically expands your shorthand notes such as initials that stand for a word, phrase or name.

It works with almost any application, even e-mail. Includes scientific, medical, legal and HTML dictionaries and a thesaurus. A menu icon stays on the task bar.

There's more but here's the deal: make up an order of 10 or more shipped to ONE address and the price is just $9.95 per copy with NO S&H charge. Call them at 1-800-359-4920 or visit their web site . I found this offer at the FACUG spring conference and they agreed to extend it to my readers.

That's about all I have room for this month, but join me here next month where we'll discuss "deals." Sincerely, Bob (The Cheapskate) Click. dealsguy@mindspring.com.

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