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Who still uses Wordperfect?

Dave Farquhar Software July 7, 2017January 23, 2022excel, keyboard shortcuts, Microsoft Office, microsoft word, office 2007, troubleshooting

I had an odd question come up the other day: Who still uses Wordperfect? It’s a fair question. Wordperfect, as you may know, is still very much in production. Corel releases new versions every year or two. It’s the #2 word processor in the market, still. Someone is still using it, then.

Wordperfect is a software classic, especially the old version 5.1 that ran under DOS. For a time, Wordperfect 5.1 was one of the two most famous programs for IBM compatible PCs. The other was Lotus 1-2-3.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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All about the Lionel RW transformer

Dave Farquhar Toy trains February 13, 2017August 17, 2018american flyer, home depot, KW, lionel, LW, marx, power cord, Standard Gauge, tin, troubleshooting

The Lionel Multi-control Trainmaster RW is a sturdy tin box of a transformer from early in the postwar era. The presence of a whistle controller is the only thing that really distinguishes it from a prewar transformer. Lionel made it from 1948 to 1954. If you want to know all about the Lionel RW transformer, you’ve come to the right place. You probably won’t find a copy of the original instruction manual online but this will tell you all you need to know.

Dave Farquhar

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Is my IT department spying on me?

Dave Farquhar Careers, security August 31, 2016October 5, 2018CIO, Microsoft Office, Proxy server, troubleshooting

There’ve been some stories floating around about how to make your IT department spy on you. The advice is good. The question you may be asking is how much does your IT department really know? Or, more directly, is my IT department spying on me?

I can’t answer the second question with certainty. But the first question is a lot. I’ll tell you a story.

Dave Farquhar

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How to disassemble a Lionel 1001, 1060 or 8902 locomotive

Dave Farquhar Toy trains May 4, 2016October 22, 2022christmas, e-unit, HO, lionel, Lionel O27, n scale, o27, philips, red wire, troubleshooting

Disassembling a Lionel 1001, 1060, 8902 or 8302 locomotive isn’t too difficult. The biggest problem is knowing where the three screws are that you have to remove.

These particular locomotives weren’t really designed to be repaired, but there’s some basic work you can do on them with household tools. The 8902 and 8302 locomotives can be cheap sources of a motor for other projects.

Dave Farquhar

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Why domain squatting works

Dave Farquhar security February 3, 2016July 9, 2017malware, Proxy server, troubleshooting

I lost an afternoon troubleshooting a Websense non-issue. A web site related to Salesforce wasn’t working, and any time something like that happens, Websense goes on trial. About all I can do is make sure it’s a fair trial. Such is the life of a proxy administrator. And in this case, Websense was innocent–the guilty party was a dirty, no-good domain squatter. It’s a business model. And people wouldn’t do it if it didn’t work. Here’s why domain squatting works.

Dave Farquhar

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All about the Lionel LW transformer

Dave Farquhar Toy trains January 26, 2016April 15, 2017american flyer, home depot, KW, lionel, lockon, LW, marx, power cord, red wire, troubleshooting

The Lionel LW Trainmaster is a 125 watt transformer that Lionel produced from 1955 to 1966. They are reasonably durable and Lionel made them for a long time. That means you can find them easily on the secondary market. They can be expensive if they have their original box and paperwork. But if you just want to run a train and don’t care about the paper, you can get a serviced LW for $50-$60, and an as-is one for under $40. At 125 watts, it’s the most powerful single-handle transformer of the postwar era.

The LW is a quirky transformer so there are some things about if you need to be aware of if you have other Lionel transformers, but as long as you keep those in mind, it’s a fine transformer that will serve you well. The quirks have nothing at all to do with reliability. Lionel just designed its layout a bit differently than many of their other models. In some ways it’s the ideal accessory transformer. We’ll cover that later.

One thing to keep in mind: Unplug the LW when you’re not using it. It doesn’t have its own power switch. I plug my transformers into a power strip and turn all of them on and off with the strip’s on/off switch.

Dave Farquhar

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Lionel 1033 transformer repair and troubleshooting

Dave Farquhar Toy trains December 31, 2015March 27, 2023amps, lionel, troubleshooting

As I’ve written before, Lionel 1033 transformers are well regarded because they’re reasonably high wattage (90 watts), very readily available, relatively inexpensive and pretty dependable. They really only have one design flaw: the circuit breaker. Here’s how I approach Lionel 1033 transformer repair.

The circuit breaker in my 1033 went bad a couple of years ago. I finally got around to replacing it.

Dave Farquhar

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All about the Lionel 1033

Dave Farquhar Toy trains December 25, 2015January 2, 2018american flyer, home depot, KW, lionel, marx, power cord, troubleshooting

The Lionel Multi-control 1033 is a 90 watt transformer produced from 1948 to 1956. They are reasonably durable and were popular in their day, which means there are still a lot of them floating around so they tend to be inexpensive. I paid $70 for one about 15 years ago but the price has come way down; today you can get a serviced 1033 for about half that, and an as-is one for $20-$25.

Even someone who has a larger transformer or multiple larger transformers for the layout might be interested in a 1033 for the test bench, as it has all of the functionality someone would need for testing locomotives and whistling tenders.

Dave Farquhar

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Testing electric train track

Dave Farquhar Toy trains December 16, 2015December 13, 2021american flyer, lionel, Lionel O27, lockon, marx, o27, s gauge, troubleshooting

I have a method of testing electric train track from Lionel, American Flyer, Marx or any other brand. The key is to test it one piece at a time, so you know any problem you found is isolated to a single piece of track.

Here are a couple of different ways to test, depending on what tools you have available.

Dave Farquhar

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Model train won’t move? Here’s the fix

Dave Farquhar model railroading December 8, 2015December 4, 2022bachmann, electric trains, HO, Model Power, n scale, troubleshooting

A common problem with HO, N, and other scales of electric train that run on DC power is that when you put them on the track, they light up but don’t move and instead make a weird noise. If your model train won’t move, I can tell you how to fix it. Here are my tricks for model train locomotive troubleshooting.

The cure is usually simple, involving switching a couple of wires.

Dave Farquhar

dfarq.homeip.net

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