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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial" align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"><FONT size=5><STRONG>Welcome
to GuruNews<o:p></o:p></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"><FONT size=4></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>Brought to you each
week by the PC Gurus, a loose collection of volunteers from around the
Kentuckiana region.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>You can interact
with the PC Guru team via our Web site, located at </FONT><A
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>If you're new to the
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size=4>http://www.jpdurbin.net</FONT></A><FONT size=4>. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>There are links to all the old 84 Online
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size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>The WHAS Crusade for
Children provides year round support for needy children throughout the
Kentuckiana region.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Visit </FONT><A
href="http://www.whascrusade.org/"><FONT
size=4>http://www.whascrusade.org</FONT></A><FONT size=4> to make donations
online.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>USS Rover’s list of
streaming computer shows is now available for download in Excel, Open Office and
Linux ready formats from </FONT><A
href="http://sheet.zoho.com/public/ussrover/shows"><FONT
size=4>http://sheet.zoho.com/public/ussrover/shows</FONT></A><FONT size=4>.
</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>To subscribe to this
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style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1.5pt solid">
<P class=MsoNormal
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size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>Vol. 9, No. 15<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 3">
</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>4-16-09</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>1 Blue Screens and
you <SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>2 Calm
down!</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>3 Google bailout?,
Time Warner smackdown, Twits, watch those credit card bills</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>4 Photo creativity
<SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1">
</SPAN></FONT></P>
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style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1.5pt solid">
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><FONT
size=4>5 WGA</FONT></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>If you’re a Windows
user you have likely been assailed by the dreaded Stop Error, usually referred
to as the Blue Screen of Death.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The
error indicates something went catastrophically wrong and Windows was stopped to
prevent damage to the OS.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>Unfortunately when
these things pop up you can usually do noting short of powering the PC off hard
and restarting.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If they come up
during the Windows startup you may be seriously hosed.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>The messages contain
some valuable troubleshooting information that you should make a note of,
although most of it is useful only to the engineer who actually wrote the
affected code.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>Sometimes it’s
difficult to actually see the messages, since the default setting in Windows XP
is to restart immediately in case of a Stop Error.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>I suggest to all
users to check the setting for that and make certain it doesn’t happen.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Right click On My Computer and click
Properties, then click the Advanced tab.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Click the Settings button in the Startup and Recovery section and uncheck
the box for Automatically restart down toward the bottom.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Don’t make any other changes, just click
OK and OK and restart the PC.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>Good news,
though.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If you get smacked with a
BSoD before you’ve made that change you can still bypass the setting.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Turn the computer on cold and
immediately start tapping F8 once or twice a second.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Keep doing that until you get the Start
Menu, then arrow down to Disable automatic restart on system failure and hit
Enter.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>Now that you can see
the blue screen, the most important pieces of information are the error code and
the error text.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>The code will be
close to the bottom of the message and is in the format nXnnnnnnnn, where n
represents an alphanumeric character.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>An example is 0X0000007B.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>The text error is in
the format word_word_word, like IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>Once you have those
things get thee to Google and search for one or both.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>You may get suggestions all over the map
but usually you can at least get a handle on where the error originates.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It could be buggy software, virus or
spyware infection, Windows corruption or failing hardware but the majority of
the time it’s caused by shoddy drivers.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>Your Google research
likely won’t lead to the exact cause but it will give you a starting point.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If you’re lucky enough to actually get
into Windows, even in Safe Mode with networking, you can use a much more
powerful tool called WhoCrashed.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>You can get the program here:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><A
href="http://www.resplendence.com/downloads"><FONT color=#800080
size=4>http://www.resplendence.com/downloads</FONT></A><FONT size=4> </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>This program looks
through the Crash Dumps (you’ll notice the error screen verbiage mentioning
dumping physical memory) and will often point out the exact file causing the
error.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>Google that file
name if you can get it and you’ll find out the source of the error.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Remove the program, driver or bad
hardware and you’ve fixed the problem.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Now you can install the latest version of the software or driver or
replace the hardware and you’re good to go.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>If this sounds too
easy it likely it is.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If it sounds
too complicated it likely is.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>These
are just some of the things you can try yourself before you ask for help but by
no means should you do things you aren’t comfortable with.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>You’d be hard
pressed to actually damage your PC but if you have important data, with no
backups, tread carefully.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The last
thing you want is to lose something priceless to you.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>Next week we’ll talk
about other steps you can take to fix major problems, but things only get more
complicated as we go.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>Until then, backup
your stuff ;)</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>Kevin Mefford,
Editor</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><A
href="mailto:pcguru@microdome.net"><FONT
size=4>pcguru@microdome.net</FONT></A></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal
style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4><IMG height=355
src="cid:FC0FB6BCCB7D49B192BE68E9041ACB82@main" width=461 border=0
v:shapes="_x0000_i1025"></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>Terry
Wise</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><A
href="http://www.ratland.com/"><FONT size=4>www.ratland.com</FONT></A></P>
<DIV
style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1.5pt solid">
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=5>Tech News of the Week</FONT></H1>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>The slumping economy
has broken Google’s streak. For the first time<BR>since it went public in 2004,
revenue at the Internet search company<BR>declined between two consecutive
quarters as marketers reined in their<BR>online advertising
budgets:<BR><BR></FONT><A href="http://tinyurl.com/d5kugy"><FONT
size=4>http://tinyurl.com/d5kugy</FONT></A><BR><BR><FONT size=4>After a public
outcry and the attention of several members of<BR>Congress, Time Warner Cable
has stopped its trial of Internet data<BR>caps, but not before making "metered
billing" a tough sell for all<BR>other American ISPs:<BR><BR></FONT><A
href="http://tinyurl.com/d95swu"><FONT
size=4>http://tinyurl.com/d95swu</FONT></A><BR><BR><FONT size=4>Over the past
few days, actor Ashton Kutcher has been racing CNN to be<BR>the first Twitter
user with a million followers. And then, there was<BR>still no cure for
cancer:<BR><BR></FONT><A href="http://tinyurl.com/dcrcj2"><FONT
size=4>http://tinyurl.com/dcrcj2</FONT></A><BR><BR><FONT size=4>More personal
data records were breached last year than the previous<BR>four years combined,
thanks to increased hacker activity rather than<BR>insider
threats:<BR><BR></FONT><A href="http://tinyurl.com/dkulna"><FONT
size=4>http://tinyurl.com/dkulna</FONT></A></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>Matthew
Dattilo<BR></FONT><A href="mailto:thepcgurus@gmail.com"><FONT
size=4>thepcgurus@gmail.com</FONT></A><FONT size=4> <BR></FONT><A
href="http://www.mattstodayinhistory.com/"><FONT
size=4>www.mattstodayinhistory.com</FONT></A></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal
style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=5>Download of the Week</FONT></H1>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt"><FONT size=4>After a holiday, you probably
find yourself with a lot of pictures of your kids and/or grandkids.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This week's program lets you create a
collage from your digital pictures.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Shape Collage takes your digital photos and creates an artistic collage
from them. Just drag a set of photos into the Shape Collage window and specify
the shape of the collage that you want to make. Shape Collage is easy to use and
the results are so cool that you'll probably get addicted to making lots of
collages just to see how they turn out.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>It’s free and you can get it here: <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt"><A href="http://www.shapecollage.com/"><FONT
size=4>http://www.shapecollage.com/</FONT></A><FONT size=4>
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt"><FONT size=4>Carlita
Lupino<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt"><A href="mailto:Cards57@gmail.com"><FONT
size=4>Cards57@gmail.com</FONT></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal
style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt"><FONT
size=5>Email Question of the Week<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></H1>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt">Q:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN></SPAN>Greetings! I recently started getting a pop-up whenever I boot up
my<BR>computer asking me to download software to reduce software piracy
by<BR>confirming that the copy of Windows installed is legitimate. Since
I<BR>originally bought my computer directly from Dell 6 or 7 years ago
with<BR>the software "factory" installed, shouldn't they already know that
it<BR>is legitimate? My question is this a legitimate request from
Microsoft<BR>or some hacker trying to get me to download some bad stuff? Regards
to<BR>all. You are performing a GREAT service!!</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=4> <o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=4>A:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The pop-up are you getting is a
legitimate, but annoying, one. Go<BR>ahead and complete the prompts to
finish the install and have it go<BR>away. While it inconviences people
like you and me who do run<BR>legitimate copies of Windows at our homes or work,
it's meant to lock<BR>out people who are not running genuine copies of
Windows. The irony<BR>of it all is that the people who would get affected
by the lockouts<BR>are also the ones who have ways to bypass it with dubious
legality.<BR><BR>Hope this takes care of your concerns, and feel free to e-mail
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