Q.  A friend sent me a digital photo that looked like a mosaic, meaning it was made up of  lots of little pieces.  How is something like that done?

A.  That mosaic special effect can be accomplished with Foto-Mosaik. This free program allows you to create mosaic (or mosaik in this instance) pictures by breaking photos into small tiles. You can specify the size of the tiles, as well as the number of tiles to be used.

Q.  I keep getting a pop-up from something called "Messenger Service." I have no idea what it is, but it’s driving me crazy. I’m using XP. Can you help, Mr. M?

A.  Messenger Service is a part of Windows that spammers have learned to exploit for their own advantage. It’s always something, isn’t it? I’d suggest two things:  First, if you’re not using a firewall, enable (turn on) your XP Firewall; then let’s turn off that annoying Messenger Service. 

To enable the firewall in Windows XP, click Start > Control Panel > Network Connections or double-click the Network Connections icon on your Desktop, if you have it. Right-click the icon that represents your Internet connection (usually Local Area Connection), then select Properties > Advanced tab.  Under Internet Connection Firewall, check the “Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet” check box, followed by OK. (Note: If you installed the Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) update, your firewall is enabled by default.) 

To turn off the Messenger Service, click Start > Control Panel > Performance & Maintenance > Administrative Tools > Services, or Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services. Scroll down the list of services and double-click Messenger. On the General tab in the Messenger Properties window, next to Startup Type, select Disabled, followed by Apply > OK.

Those annoying Message Service pop-ups will no longer darken your digital doorstep.

Q.  I’ve got a number of Restore Points, but I don’t need them all. Is there some way I can delete the ones I don’t need?

A.  To delete Restore Points under Windows XP and Vista, click Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup. After Disk Cleanup finishes its assessment of your hard drive, click the More Options tab. Under “System Restore” you'll see the option to delete all but the most recent Restore Point.

Q.  I love your newsletter and look forward to it every Friday. Is there some way I can print out the links that appear on Web sites that I visit? Keep up the good work, Mr. M.

A.  Thanks very much. Yes, with a few exceptions, if you’re using Internet Explorer you can print out all the links in any document or Web site. With the document displayed on screen, click File > Print > Options tab. Place a check in the box beside "Print table of links," and click the Print button. The resulting printed table of links can be very useful, though longer Web addresses may be truncated to fit the table. This works with most printers, so hopefully it will work with yours, also.

Mr. Modem's Sites of the Week:

Answers.com
This self-described "New Standard in Reference” is a free, online reference guide with information covering more than a million topics. Answers.com differs from search engines in that it provides quick answers to specific questions, as opposed to results that link you to a list of related topics. The site's editors draw their data from more than a hundred reference sources including dictionaries, thesauruses (thesaurii?), encyclopedias, and atlases, so you can count on answers being reliable.  
www.answers.com

Yahoo Traffic Reports
This offering from Yahoo provides real-time traffic conditions. Using information from radio traffic reports, police scanners, embedded road sensors, and traffic helicopters, Yahoo warns motorists of construction and other delays. In some instances, the service also provides weather advisories issued by state and local jurisdictions. Currently, 44 U.S. cities are included, with more to be added over time. 
http://traffic.yahoo.com/traffic

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