Vol 6, Num 4, Issue #85
Circulation 27,912
April 2000

Time To Upgrade?

Is your computer running slower than it used to? Does it seem that it takes your computer longer to boot and load applications? Are you tired of waiting on your PC? There are two possible reasons why your computer slows down over time. First, you may just need to clean it up. Over time, your hard drive can get cluttered with junk, especially if you are the kind of user that loves to load lots of software on your computer. If this is the case, you may just need our PCDoctor Preventative Maintenance service to clean up your system (request document 004230 for more information on this). The other reason why your computer may seem to be running slower is that the newer software you’ve loaded on your PC has a higher hardware requirement than your system was designed for. Let’s say you bought a Pentium II 200 with 32 MB of RAM and a 2 GB hard drive a few years back. You’ve just recently loaded Microsoft Office 2000 Professional on it (in addition to the latest utilities off the Web). It’s no wonder your system is running slow. Your machine is under-powered for the software you’re trying to run. No problem. We can upgrade your machine. In fact, if you’ve bought your computer in the last 2 to 5 years, it makes much more sense to upgrade than to buy a new PC. We’ve put together a very detailed report about upgrading your PC that can explain more than we have room for here. It’s free by fax. Just give us a call (or fill out the mini form below) and request document 004231.

 

Q: Our business generates lots of paperwork. We keep all of the forms in series of large filing cabinets, and every time we want to look something up it takes us 10 minutes of searching – and our filing system is pretty good. Someone mentioned that we should scan all of our forms into the computer and we could look up the information that way. Is this possible, or is it still something that’s futuristic? > Jon, Amherst NY

 

A: Jon, that all depends on your expectations and your budget. Yes, the technology is here, but there is a balance between time and money. In other words, the more money you spend, the less time you’ll have to invest. If you use a low-end scanner on a 486 PC, you can get by, but you’ll be spending lots of time scanning your documents and indexing them. However, if you have some budget to work with, we can put together a system for you that’s very fast and efficient. Interested? Request document 004232.

 

Q: We have a file server sitting in our closet that does it’s job, but I can’t stop wondering whether or not we should be doing something on a weekly or monthly basis to make sure it’s running smoothly. Should we? > Sue, Hamburg NY

 

A: Sue, there are a few things you should do with your file server on a regular basis if you don’t have a network administrator on staff. Request document 004242.

 

Q: After taking your Web Page Basics class, I’ve recently designed my own web page using Microsoft Word. I’ve included links to other pages, graphics, and even a table or two, like we learned in class. One thing I didn’t ask in class, however, is how do I add in a page hit counter to track visits, a scrolling marquee, a shopping cart, or a feedback form? These are a bit more advanced, but you see them everywhere. > Tim, Buffalo NY

 

A: Tim, these features are a bit more advanced, and we don’t cover them in our Web Page Basics because they’re beyond the basic capabilities of Word. The easiest way to include most of these features into your web site is to invest the money in Microsoft FrontPage which is designed solely for building web pages. In fact, hit counters, scrolling marquees, feedback forms, hover buttons, and a bunch of other advanced features are real simple using FrontPage. Of course, we have a class for FrontPage. Request document 004233 for a schedule. A shopping cart, however, is a bit more advanced for even a basic FrontPage class. Shopping carts involve web programming in a language like JavaScript. We’ll talk about this in a future issue of ComputerFAQs.

 

TIP: Microsoft recently released Service Pack 1 for Office 2000, but they quickly pulled it off of their web site. We expect there were problems with it. If anyone you know has a copy, or if you find it somewhere else on the web don’t install it!

---

We’ve Updated Our Web Site! We’ve finally taken some time to update our web site. You can now request documents online, price out a new computer, read about computer upgrades, check our training schedule, and even sign up for a class or set up an Internet account online! Visit www.amicron.com.   Welcome! Seems you're already here!

 

Upgrade To 500 MHz for $299. Upgrade your slow computer to a blazing fast 500 MHz for as little as $299. This includes a new motherboard, processor, and chip cooler. Call for complete details. Request document 004234.

 

Amicron Offering Internet Service. Web site development, hosting, training, shared office-Internet connectivity, commercial and residential dialup service, DSL high-speed access, and commercial web site hosting are just some of the services Amicron provides. Switch to Amicron Internet before June 1^st, 2000 and we’ll waive the $25 setup fee and we’ll configure your PC for Internet access for free! Call for complete details. Request document 004235.

 

Train Your Employees The Right Way. Our Complete Office Learning Collection includes Intro To PCs, Windows 1, Word 1, Excel 1, and Windows 2 classes plus a free elective of your choice for only $289. Give your employees a well-rounded education. Individual classes are available starting at $59 for a complete 3-hour course. Request document 004236.

 

Custom Built Computer Systems. We don’t try to sell you what we have on the shelf. The next time you’re in the market for a new computer, call us for a quote. If you’d like some pricing and information on some of our popular configurations, call and request document 004237.

 

Notebooks. Looking for a portable PC? We have a complete line of quality notebook computers. We have something for everyone: from executive to college student. Request 004238.

 

Want To Build Databases? We’re starting our next 6-week Microsoft Access Developer Series soon! For a schedule, and more information request document 004239. Also, for those of you who have previously taken the class, we’ve recently revised the manuals and videotapes. If you haven’t received yours, please call us and put your name on the list to get your free copy.

 

 

 

Documents are free by fax to the Buffalo/WNY area. You can call us at 716-677-4737, fax us at 716-677-4742, email us at cfaqs@amicron.com, or visit our web site at www.amicron.com. Be sure to leave your name and fax number. For a complete listing of documents, or for back issues of this newsletter, request document 004241. ComputerFAQs is copyright ©1994-2000 by Amicron Technology Services, all rights reserved. Please contact us if you are interested in any of our products or services, or if you would like your number removed from our database. Our office is located at 2630 North America Drive, West Seneca NY 14224. Our office hours at 9:00 am to 5:30 pm, Monday thru Friday. We never sell our database of fax numbers to any outside sources. If we have reached your fax number in error, please let us know and we will remove your number from our database immediately. Thank you.