Issue Number 22 - April 2000

This is a follow-up to Rick Maybury's book on computer trouble-shooting. It shows you how to put your PC to good use once it's working. He covers realistic everyday topics, such as using DTP to produce your own stationery, organizing your finances, making a screensaver, creating your own newsletter, designing a web site, and upgrading by adding memory and a DVD player. Full review at --

http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/maybury2.htm

Books and their Enemies #2
"Every South African cannot go out and buy every new book and read it to decide if he will like it. Now we have a body that can do it for him. We study the book and tell him if he will like it or not."

Judge J.H. Snyman - Chief Censor South Africa, 1978

(Source: BookEnds)

Word Tip
If you have a Word document that is corrupted and can't be opened in Word, here's a way to retrieve the text you created. Open the file in the DOS Editor and strip the binary junk from the top and bottom of the file. This leaves you with plain text that can be saved and reformatted.

Interviewing
This is a guide to interviewing techniques for those who are asking the questions. It covers all sorts of interview, from servicing helpdesk inquiries, to job interviews, canvassing, and even conducting TV interviews. It also deals with how to interpret non-verbal gestures, providing feedback, and dealing with people from different cultures. Review and details at --

http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/keats.htm

Elements of Electronic Communication
There must still be people who need help with the basics of emailing, communicating via the Web, and learning how to deal with newsgroups. This is a simple guide to help them. It's from the beginners' series published by Allyn and Bacon. Written in simple plain prose and suitable for the classroom or people just starting out.

http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/schultz.htm

Movie Mistakes - web site
Are you one of those people who jumps up off the setee when you spot the actor in 'Spartacus' wearing a wrist watch? This is the web site for you. It features bloopers from thousands of movies - and you might be surprised to see that the top twenty contain films which have cost millions to make. Top of the list is 'Titanic' closely followed by 'Star Wars', 'Saving Private Ryan', and 'Indiana Jones'.

http://www.movie-mistakes

Online writers' style guides
We've started a list of free downloadable notes on writers' grammar and style guides which are available on line. They range from books such as Strunk's classic 'Elements of Style' to university sites and collections by enthusiasts.

http://www.mantex.co.uk/samples/style.htm

Virginia Woolf - update
She is still very popular, according to the number of hits at our site. So we've updated the biographical notes and the list of selected criticism.

http://www.mantex.co.uk/ou/a319/a319-00.htm