What is a PM?

PM stands for private message. These are used whenever you want to communicate with another board member without anyone else being able to see your message. The PM system is much like email in that no-one can gain access to your messages unless they know your password. The method used to send a PM to another member is very similar no matter which type of bulletin board you are using. You can either browse through the members list to find the person you want to contact and then click on the adjacent PM button, or even easier than that, you can locate the PM button in the member's replies on the board and click on the link from there.

Whenever you click on the PM button, analogously to email, you will be presented with several empty information fields, which must be filled in before you can proceed. These include a 'to', 'from', 'topic' and a message box. Providing you are already logged into the board, the first two fields will be entered automatically, leaving you to give your message a topic title, type the text of your message into the large empty space and press the send button.

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A tip for those of you with memory impairments. A tip for those of you with memory impairments ;)

One of the major faults of pre-XP versions of Windows is that when you close down an application, the memory which was allocated to that application is not automatically freed up for re-use. This means that the more programs you use, the slower your PC gets - eventually it will crawl along at such a pathetic pace that it will require a reboot before you can get anything done. However, by installing a memory management program, whenever you close down an application, the RAM that is no longer required can be reclaimed and recycled.

My favourite tool for this job is the tiny, and best of all free, Max Mem, available from www.analogx.com. With this installed, whenever you run and subsequently close down a memory hogging application, Max Mem will swoop down from the skies in its lycra costume, cape and bright red underpants to save the day, thus preventing your PC from grinding to a halt (yes I know I've watched too many Superman films!).

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How can I stop all that irritating web site music from playing?

Just wait for the page to finish loading and press your browser's stop button (the red circle with the x in the middle). It is also possible to prevent web site music from initiating to begin with - at least it is if you happen to be using Internet Explorer.

The procedure is as follows: click on 'tools' and then select 'internet options' from the drop down menu. Now click on the 'advanced' tab and locate the 'play sounds in web pages' option from within the 'multimedia' group of preferences. If you untick the checkbox adjacent to it, never again will you have to suffer from such auditory intrusion.

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