May 1996 Windows Online

Compiled by Tom Ponzo, Paul Silverman, and Lori L. Bloomer

Yes, it's that time of year: Your taxes are filed, and your computer--not to mention your office--is an utter disaster. If you're looking for ways to clean the dreck from your hard disk, here's sage advice on where to get started:

Internet flotsam and jetsam. Give FAQs more than two months old the heave-ho-most are updated monthly. Ditto old .SIG files.

If you maintain a Web site, don't just upload new files-delete the defunct ones. Why waste Web space on files you don't need? If you have pages that you don't update often, take those down as well. A stale page is often not worth the bandwidth it takes to transmit it, so if it's outdated, get rid of it.

Netscape or other browsers. Find the cache of pages you've visited. If any files are more than a month old (two months if you're a pack rat), delete them. If you don't visit the site more than once, why keep the page?

WinCIM. If you've upgraded your system in the past year, check your CSERVE/SCRIPTS directory. You should find some files with the extensions .OLD or .001. Those are outdated-send them Recycle Bin-ward.

You'll also want to skim through the Filing Cabinet. If your installation of WinCIM is set up to auto-file messages, you'll have a sheaf of them in the Auto-Filed folder. Ditch the ones you don't need.

America Online. Look at your Personal Filing Cabinet. If you've checked the option to save mail messages, the cabinet will hold a copy of every piece of mail you've sent or received. Take the time to rid yourself of unnecessary messages. You may also want to delete the GIF artwork from areas on AOL you don't intend to revisit-they just take up space.

All upgraded programs. Once you've downloaded and installed an upgrade, make sure you delete all the intermediate files. Keep a copy of the .ZIP or .EXE file.

If you prune the growing weeds that claimed your hard disk during your time online, you'll regain acres of real estate. Your PC (and your Webmaster) will thank you.

As the saying goes, "April showers bring May flowers." The three major online services are ready to help you deliver the wonderful scents of spring to a loved one.

Type the jumpword PC Flowers in Prodigy to zip over to an FTD site where you can order all sorts of floral arrangements. Flowers also bloom on CompuServe (GO: FLOWERS), with FTD, 1-800-FLOWERS, Flower Stop and Walter Knoll Florist offering bouquets you can order online, just in time for Mother's Day.

America Online has a special area devoted to Mom. Mother's Day 1996 (Keyword: Mother's Day) features information on the history of the day, famous quotations, special recipes that Mom will love, and an assortment of card and gift ideas. You can also link to AOL's 1-800-FLOWERS site from the Mother's Day area.

We dug for everything from gardening tips to more Mother's Day gifts, and found that spring is not only in the air, it's on the Web, too.

http://garden.burpee.com/ The Burpee Home Garden Page is a horticultural online fantasy. You can order a catalog or preview the seed company's favorites and specials. Burpee's gardening experts will even field your questions via e-mail.

http://www.skypoint.com/subscribers/ashbury/_hhdir/hhhotlinks.html The Boys of Summer are back, and Baseball on the Net is the ultimate box score. The site is not glamorous, but it offers everything from stats to classic cards, plus a handy search engine.

http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~dmdragon/memorial.html Commemorate American veterans by visiting the Memorial Day home page. The site includes casualty and POW/MIA lists, speeches by President Clinton and links to related sites.

http://www.yahoo.com/ Business_and_Economy/ Companies/Gifts/ Doesn't Mom deserve more than a card this year? Yahoo's gift site offers a cornucopia of ideas guaranteed to make Mom smile.

http://www.hometime.com/ Based on the PBS show, Hometime features a How-To Center with tips on remodeling, painting and wallpapering. You can also browse previous or upcoming episodes.