USING A MAP CD WITH T-III 3.5c

If you have installed the latest 3.5c version of T-III, you may have noticed that the maps have been greatly improved, especially in Columbiana county. You may also have noticed that these new maps take up a lot more of your hard disk space. Users with older systems and smaller hard drives either have to install a minimum number of maps and/or delete unnecessary files and programs to make room. There is an alternative, and that is to use a Map CD with T-III. Map CDs will soon be available for purchase from the board. Why would you want to use a Map CD if you have the space on your hard drive? You will regain space on your drive that you have not had since installingprior versions of T-III. I personally do not want to load up my hard drive, no matter the size, with huge graphic files that I may seldom, or never, need to access. For more complete details, contact Jeff at 330-788-7026 or check the “How To” section at www.ycar.org.

While on the subject of maps… if you find that the maps are not working properly in Location Editor or if when performing a Map Criteria search in Workstation, you need to make a correction to your t3system.ini file. For details, go to the “How To” section at www.ycar.org and click on "How to fix the Mapping Problem in the new 3.5c Upgrade"

DEFRAGMENT YOUR HARDDRIVE

Over time, the installing and uninstalling of applications, plus creating and deleting files, will leave “holes” in your hard drive. Your system will attempt to fill the holes with new information, even when these holes are not all in the same place. A document that you create could quite literally be saved in segments all over your hard drive! Because your system must jump around on the surface of the hard drive to read these fragmented files, you may eventually experience slowing system performance. Use Disk Defragmenter to rearrange files and unused space on your hard disk so that the fragments are pieced together. This will speed up access to your hard drive and allow programs to run faster.

FREE INTERNET ACCESS

(Note: Shortly after this column was published, Freelane bit the dust like a lot of Free Internet Providers!) Why pay for internet access when you can get on for free? Of all the free Internet Service Providers that I’ve tried, I like Freelane by Excite.com. They offer five access numbers to choose from in Youngstown. The sign-up process is quick and easy. And, your e-mail address, (i.e. you@excite.com) is simple and recognizable. Yes, you have to put up with the navigation/ad bar on your screen at all times, but if you change your screen resolution to something higher than 640 x 480 (i.e. 800 x 600 or 1024 x 768) your view can be virtually unobstructed. They also offer a free Internet Answering Machine with Voice Mail. You can forward your excite.com e-mail to another account, or configure your excite account to “fetch” up to five POP (Post Office Protocol) e-mail accounts, such as your crismls.com e-mail. You get 56K modem connections, unlimited Net access… and it’s FREE forever. There’s even a Macintosh download version of their connection software, which Mac users will agree, is a rare find. Use the browser of your choice, and put the FreeLane Navigation Bar where you want it.

WWW.YCAR.ORG

We are starting to get more and more members signing on to the YCAR Message Board. This forum can be used for Q&A about computers, the internet, T-III, the real estate business or whatever. You can let members know about a new listing, or a price reduction, or an open house. You can even upload pictures. So click on Message Board in the Members section and check it out. The more agents we can encourage to use this forum the more valuable it will be!

Check back each month for more tips on the Internet, T-III, your computer and our website.