Do I hear dolphins? Locusts? A typewriter?

We turn now to a comment from Jan in Richmond – and many like her: “What’s the deal? I’m hearing clicks all over the place. Audible clicks, frequent clicks, every time I do something like open a new window or click on a message.”

First check: are you underwater? Is there any reason a dolphin might be interested in speaking with you? If so, yes: it could be dolphins.

Second check: are you in a tree? Is it hot there? Do you have peanut butter on your fingers? If so, you may be hearing cicadas.

If neither of these scenarios describes your situation, and you’re using Yahoo! Mail Beta on Internet Explorer, those clicks you’re hearing (and believe us, we’re hearing them too!) are handy indicator sounds Explorer provides to tell you each time a server’s being contacted for something. And you can turn them OFF.

Here’s how to restore peace and tranquility.

1. From the “Start” pop-up menu on your desktop, select your computer’s “Control Panel.”

2. From this list, pick “Sounds and Audio Devices” (for Windows XP) or “Sounds and Multimedia Properties” (for Windows 2000). A dialog window opens.

3. From the tabs across the top, pick “Sounds.”

4. Scroll down and you’ll find a category called “Windows Explorer.” The last item under this heading is “Start Navigation.” Click this to highlight it.

5. In the box just below this, called “Sounds,” open the pop-up menu and scroll to the top to choose (None). See here.

6. Click the “OK” button to close the dialog window. And exhale – ahhhh.

How did we figure that out? Well, it was that – or go completely nuts. So we looked hard.

Now that you’ve earned your associate’s degree in click-free, why not enjoy a quiet cup o’ tea. Thanks for stopping by.

The Yahoo! Mail Beta team