Errata

The title has changed to "Windows Me: The Missing Manual" (note that change
should be made in the running footer throughout the book).

read:

"(see page 116)."

Now reads:

"(see page 186)."

The first paragraph under "Games" did read:

"You can even play some of these games (Backgammon, Chapters,..."

It now reads:

"You can even play some of these games (Backgammon, Checkers,..."

Viewing folder contents

To see what's in one of the disks or folders listed at the left side of
the Explorer window, you can use any of these techniques:

? Click a folder in the left pane of the Explorer; the contents appear
in the right pane.
? Double-click a folder in the left pane, or click the + button next to
its name. The branch expands in the left pane.
? Right-click a folder in the left pane and select Open from the
shortcut menu. A new window opens, displaying the contents of the folder
you clicked. (To open a program or document that appears in either side
of the window, double-click it as usual.)

The second bulleted item under "Launching Programs" did read:

"Choose a program's name from the QuickLaun ch toolbar (page 79)."

It now reads:

"Choose a program's name from the Quick Launch toolbar (page 79)."

The 3rd paragraph under "Hooking up a file extension" did read:

"To do so, right-click the file's icon and choose Open With from the
shortcut menu. Windows Me presents the same Open With dialog box shown
in Figure 6-11."

It now reads:

"To do so, right-click the file's icon and choose Open With from the
shortcut menu. Windows Me presents the Open With dialog box shown in
Figure 6-13."

The third paragraph did read:

"After you've unzipped the software, you'll usually find, among the
resulting pieces, an installer, just like the ones described in the
previous section."

It now reads:

"After you've unzipped the software, you'll usually find, among the
resulting pieces, an installer, just like the ones described in the
previous section.

Tip: Windows Me comes with its own version of WinZip called WinPop,
but you must install it manually, as described on pages 387-388."

Burning your own CDs

If your PC has a CD burner attached, you can create your own audio CDs
that play in any standard CD player. Candidates for this treatment are
MP3 files, WAV files, and Windows Media files (.asf, .wma, and .wmv),
such as the ones you've copied from a CD to your hard drive.

1. Copy the music you'll want to your hard drive.

If you're using MP3 or WAV files, they're probably already on your hard
drive. If you're planning to use tracks from a CD, copy them as directed
in "Copy the CD to your hard drive," above. Remember that the quality
settings you use will affect the sound quality of the finished disc.

2. Create a playlist.

A playlist, in this case, is simply a list of the tracks you'll want on
your homemade CD. To create a playlist, click the Media Library button,
click New Playlist, type a name for the list. Then add tracks to the new
playlist by highlighting their names (at the right side of the window)
and then clicking "Add to playlist" on the toolbar; choose "Add to [your
new playlist's name]" from the tiny menu. The maximum length for a CD is
74 minutes.

3. Choose File -> Copy to CD.

Now the Playlists list appears.

4. Double-click the name of the playlist you want converted to a CD.

If the equipment gods are smiling, your CD burner now spins into action,
and the messages on the screen keep you posted as the CD is created.

Tip: If you want to play the resulting CD in a standard stereo CD
player, use a CD-R disc (which you can record only once); CD-RW
(rewritable) discs play only in computers.

Copy the CD to a portable device

If you have a palmtop computer that's capable of playing music, such as
a Diamond Rio or a Windows CE-based palmtop, you can copy your CD files
there. To do so, connect the palmtop, and then click the Portable Device
button on the left side of the Media Player window. Now Media Player
displays a split window: the left side lists the tracks on the CD, and
the right side lists the music currently installed on the palmtop. Turn
on the checkboxes of the tracks you want, and then click Copy Music;
Windows copies the music you selected to your portable player.

The 2nd and 3rd paragraphs in the FAQ box did read:

"If you have a keyboard built especially for using Windows, you have
three extra keys on the bottom row:

? On the left, between the Ctrl and Alt keys, a key with the Windows
logo. Press it to open the Start menu without having to use the mouse."

They now read:

"If you have a keyboard built especially for using Windows, you have
three extra keys:

? A key with the Windows logo. Press it to open the Start menu without
having to use the mouse. (This key is usually on the bottom row of
desktop PCs; it may be at the top of a laptop keyboard.)"

The 2nd column of text in the FAQ box did read:

"+D hides or shows..."

It now reads:

"[Windows]+D hides or shows..."

Two-Computer Ethernet and Direct Cable Connections

If you want to network only two computers, you can do so without having
to buy and set up a hub.

All you need is a special cable called a crossover cable, which can
connect two computers directly. It costs about $10 at your local
computer store or online shop; just run the cable directly from one
networking card to the other. Everything else in this chapter works
exactly as though you had purchased a hub and were using a "real"
Ethernet network.

There's another way to connect two machines, too-one that doesn't even
require Ethernet cards: direct connections. You can create this kind of
miniature homemade network only if (a) the computers are close to each
other, (b) they both have parallel ports, and (c) you've bought a
high-speed DirectParallel cable (www.lpt.com).

To begin, use the Add/Remove Programs control panel (page 185) to
install the Windows component called Direct Cable Connection on each PC.

Now choose Start->Programs->Accessories-> Communications->Direct Cable
Connection. A wizard appears, asking if the computer you're using will
be the host (the machine whose files will be shared) or the guest (the
one that will be accessing shared resources on the other machine).
Choose Host, and then click Next.

On the next wizard screen, specify the port you're using to connect the
machines (from the list of unused serial, parallel, or infrared ports).
Click Parallel. Plug in the cable, if you haven't already; click Next,
then Finish. The host computer starts "listening" for the guest to visit
it.

Repeat all of this on the other machine, this time designating it the
Guest.

Once the two machines are connected by cable, you can open the My
Network Places icon on the guest machine; you'll see the shared folders,
disks, and printers, just as though they were connected via "real"
network.

Thereafter, whenever you want to repeat this procedure, just run the
Direct Cable Connection Wizard on each machine to establish the
connection.

The text of item #3 did read:

"(To do so, use the Add/Remove Programs control panel described on page
185, where you'll find an item called Uninstall Windows Me. Click it,
then click Add/Remove, to get rid of Windows Me.)

Of course, choosing to maintain the older copy requires enough free
space on your drive to hold the older Windows version (about 150 to 200
MB). You'll reclaim that space when you either uninstall Windows Me or
get rid of the older version (once you've fallen in love Windows Me)."

It now reads:

"Here's how to proceed, once you've made up your mind:

If you decide to keep Windows Me: Open the Add/Remove Programs control
panel described on the next page. Click "Delete Windows Millennium
Uninstall information," then click Add/Remove. You've just deleted your
older operating system, reclaiming about 200 MB of disk space in the
process.

If you decide to ditch Windows Me: Open the Add/Remove Programs control
panel described the next page. Click "Uninstall Windows Me," then click
Add/Remove. You've just returned to Windows 95 or 98."

Choose Columns

In a list view, Windows shows the details of each file in Name, Size,
Type, and Modified columns. But using this command, you can choose from
an enormous list of additional columns that you'd like displayed (in the
frontmost window): Company Name, Product Version, Sender Name, and so
on. You can also specify how wide you'd like each column to be, and
(using the Move Up and Move Down buttons) where you'd like it to appear
in the left-to-right order.

crossover cables, 397
Direct Cable Connection, 397