The following is my very infrequent newsletter.

I would appreciate feedback (mailto:ira@creativesoftwareinc.com). Also, I would appreciate knowing if anyone would have problems if I change this newsletter to HTML so it can look better and link easier to Web pages?

Topics included are:

* Viruses (Worm.ExplorZip Alert)

* Office 2000 - Now Shipping

* Y2K - Yet Again

* Creative Software Solutions Web Site - We're back - with lots of options

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Viruses (Worm.ExplorZip Alert)

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On June 10, a malicious computer worm capable of destroying data on infected machines was detected. Disguised as e-mail from a friend, it forced many businesses to halt their e-mail systems. Computer security companies said the worm represented a new level of danger, combining the rapid-spread capability of the recent Melissa virus with a far more dangerous parcel as found in the Chernobyl virus.

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO UPDATE YOUR VIRUS DEFINITIONS. If you have not updated for a while, update now, reboot and perform a complete virus scan on your computer.

This is a serious threat that we all have to watch out for. Many of you know my opinion of viruses. In the past, publicity about viruses were often a means to sell anti-virus software. On top of that the anti-virus software as often as not caused ones computer to crash (maybe more damage than a virus would cause). Unfortunately, times have changed. Viruses have spread to an incredible extent. They are more vicious and durable. They are harder to detect and to stop. They spread faster. Fortunately, the new anti-virus software has grown up and can really help. My favorite anti-virus software of the current crop is Norton's. Click on this link to go to Beyond.com's page for Norton Anti-virus version 5.0:

Some reference articles for follow-up reading:

Malicious worm spreads through e-mail systems (describes the virus):

http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/stories/news/0,4153,2273659,00.html

Firms scramble to block worm's advance (describes some companies, such as Boeing and Microsoft, that have been hit hard):

http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/stories/news/0,4153,2274085,00.html

Anti-virus software can not help everyone. Just like a virus that attacks our immune system and presents us with yearly colds and flues, a software virus can successfully attach a computer that does not have adequate protection. Not only can they attack computers that do not have current anti-virus definitions, but anti-virus software can only protect against viruses that they already know about. In other words, until a virus has been captured while attacking, anti-virus software can not necessarily protect. Because of the severity of the potential damage to your data, please make sure that you regularly back up all of your important data (of course everyone already do this on a daily basis).

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Office 2000 - Now Shipping

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The new Microsoft Office 2000 is here!

Press releases are mixed. On the one hand, I see many articles that say no one should bother to upgrade to this continuing bloated product. Others are touting the advantages (more features, easier to get at features, more intuitive, bugs fixed).

I have been using Office 2000 since last November. My experience is that it seems to fail less often than Office'97. And it really is easier to use. I have extensively used Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, FrontPage and Publisher. I have occasionally used Excel and PowerDraw. All seem to be really nice. No way I will go back to Outlook '97. Outlook 2000 has a far smoother interface and quite a bit faster. FrontPage is very good for simple web pages - however, as with all of it's competition, if you are doing anything out of the ordinary you will still need to do HTML manually. FrontPage is easy to insert or update HTML while maintaining all of it's own advantages. Let me know if you want to talk about any of the other Office 2000 products (this was not meant to be an in depth review).

The following points to some Office 2000 tips that can be helpful.

http://www.zdnet.com/pccomp/stories/all/0,6605,401630,00.html

I also found a good deal: order now from Beyond.com and save up to $100 or more off the retail price and get Norton Utilities 4.0 and McAfee Office 2000 for FREE. To learn more about Office 2000 and which version is right for you, visit the beyond.com

Office 2000 Center:

http://www.beyond.com/AF43725/departments/specials/office2000.htm

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Y2K - Yet Again

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You here Y2K from everywhere. So I may as well continue with the fad.

First, a joke that I read from the 1/1999 Windows Magazine:

"President Yeltsin, President Clinton and Bill Gates are invited to have dinner with God. During dinner He tells them: "I needed three important people to send my message out to all people: Tomorrow I will destroy the Earth."

Yeltsin immediately calls together his cabinet and announces: "I have two really bad news items, God really exists, and tomorrow He will destroy the Earth."

Clinton calls an emergency meeting of Congress and announces: "I have good news and bad news. The good news is God really does exist; the bad news is tomorrow he's destroying the Earth."

Gates goes back to Microsoft and tells his employees: "I have two pieces of great news. First, I am one of the three most important people on Earth, and second, we don't have to fix the Y2K problem."

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The following is good reference for Y2K concerns. Please make sure to check out your computers. There are some good ideas of how to proceed for each operating system variant.

http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?1706

I have had conversations with many of you indicating concern that we will have massive power outages. I firmly believe that there will be some problems - but pretty minor.

http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?1707

Just in case you are feeling TOO secure about Y2K ... maybe things will melt down:

http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/story/story_3334.html

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Creative Software Solutions Web Site

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My original Creative Software Solutions web site worked great! But I never updated it following a hosting service problem.

All is now working - and the web site is now greatly expanded. There are still some services that I do not yet have in place - my downloads are not yet available and I am still negotiating with an order processing company to take care of credit cards and 1-800 calls.

Please feel free to visit - and let me know how you like what I put together.

Creative Software Solutions web site:

http://creativesoftwareinc.com/index.htm

General Merchandise (Books, Software, Music, Films). This is an area that I am just getting started at putting together:

http://creativesoftwareinc.com/Store/store1.htm

New York Times Best Seller List (Books at 50% discount from cover price):

http://creativesoftwareinc.com/Store/Books/top_ten/new_york_times_best_seller_list.htm

In addition, the first of many 'themed' sites is now available ... for you Star Wars fans. This page features an extensive list of links to Star War web sites, a discussion forum (just starting), Microsoft Windows Star War themes, and an on-line store with Star War books, games, music and films. Be sure to visit:

http://creativesoftwareinc.com/starwars/index.htm

If you like the themed site, other topics that have been suggested include Star Trek, The Inferno (for you Dante fans), and Austin Powers. Let me know your thoughts and if there are themes that you would like to help put into place.

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Please let me know if you desire to NOT be included with future newsletters from this distribution list.

Ira Wald

Creative Software Solutions

Phone: (612) 546-0527

Mailto:ira@creativesoftwareinc.com