25th February 2000

When was the last time you registered a piece of shareware? Be honest -- I just installed a lie detector on my laptop. Okay, so you don't register everything you download -- that's okay. But I bet you have a pile of LEGITIMATE serial numbers and codes sitting somewhere in your closet. Or, perhaps they're scattered across your system? Captain Obvious to the rescue! Have one file sitting in your 'My Documents' folder -- name it CODES.TXT (or the like, as long as it's a text file). Now, go ahead and put "everything" in there. This way, you won't have to go hunting for numbers when you do a reinstall. As the file grows bigger, you'll have to rely on the 'Find' feature in Notepad (or your favorite text viewing app). I'd suggest writing down the program name, version, Web site, e-mail contact, and (the obligatory) serial number.