your net:// InBox highlights

Compiled by PETER SINCLAIR

Welcome to InBox, where we attempt to answer your internet questions.

"Being a fairly new member of Senior Net, I am running Windows 98… I was surprised to see on my desktop a few weeks ago a notice from Microsoft that an update was available for Internet Explorer. Download time: 2h 17m. Should I go ahead and download this update, and what benefits will I derive? Faithfully, Harry Linn"

This is just Bill Gates' way of trying to make you upgrade to IE 5.5, Harry. The question is, do you need to? Apart from a new Print Preview function and slight performance improvements, there aren't many new features for the average surfer. My advice: stick with what you've got for now.

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Sunseekers Graham McCaffrey and his wife, lying on a beach somewhere in Oz: "My husband and I read the NZ Herald online daily, and wonder if it is possible to read the 'deaths' column? Having lived in New Zealand for 55 years before shifting to Australia, we would appreciate being able to read this column, as I know many other ex-New Zealanders would too."

Births, Deaths and Marriages from the New Zealand Herald classifieds are searchable online at netclassifieds.nzherald.co.nz/personals. Classifieds stay online for a week after publication. Hot tip: try our new FYI service to get automatic notification when any classified meeting your criteria appears - including ads from the personal section. The person, Porsche or puppy of your dreams is only an e-mail away.

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Doug Garner writes: "When I receive a Fwd e-mail in MIME format I can't read it. It just shows a lot of coded rubbish. Can I fix it?"

You should be able to, Doug, but it's hard to answer without knowing what e-mailer you're using. Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) is one of two standard internet formats, and most new e-mail programs use it. You can set Outlook to use either MIME or UUENCODE (for text-based e-mail programmes on a UNIX system) as the default format. Or simply ask your correspondent to resend the message in RTF (Rich Text Format).

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Dolf's webcam is playing up: "After I installed it using Win 98, it was running ok. But the next time I tried it, I got this: C\program files\logictech\quickcam\lqcui.dll was not found. I have no idea what this means."

What it's saying, in its geek way, is that after rebooting your webcam could no longer find its 'driver' file. Do a search for lqcui.dll (use Find Files or Folders on your Start menu), and when you locate it drag a copy to the Windows System folder. If that doesn't work, try a re-install. Don't you hate computers?

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More of your InBox questions will be answered Wednesday in CyberLunch, on air 12:00-1:00 with Murray Lindsay and Peter Sinclair on Classic Hits 97FM.

If there's anything you want to know about the exciting world of the web, just e-mail inbox@herald.co.nz.

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