Although  this site is primarily for BASIC, DOS and Windows 3.1, I thought that it might be useful to include a few tips about 9x (Windows 95,98 and ME).

I suspect that most people that run the older OS's will actually use a more up-to-date system to go On-Line. OK I know that it is possible to use 3.1 or even DOS to surf the net but why make life difficult when you don't have to? 

With this in mind I have decided to include a few hints based on my own experiences and the needs of those around me. I have recently "commissioned" a PC for an elderly couple who have never used one before. With poor sight and virtually no mouse control just shutting down the system required numerous attempts. Eventually we resorted to just using the keyboard!

Think about the number of steps involved.

1.    START

2.    Shut Down (Keyboard "u")

3.    Shut Down (Keyboard "S" this time)

4.    OK

Life could be simpler. 

Right Click on the desktop and create a new shortcut and put the following in the target window. It must be exactly as below for it to work. Note the comma and space before user.exe.

C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL32.EXE user.exe,ExitWindows

Alternatively  click on this button to download it with an icon. Just unzip and place it on your desktop. If you copy it to your Quick Launch bar it will shut down your PC with just one click. Will NOT work with Windows 2000 or XP.

This is an Excel file written by Peter Illing for calculating car fuel cost stats. Again not really under the remit of this site but what the hell. Should be useful for anyone who has to drive for a living and needs to keep tabs on mileage, costs and fuel.