tweaking new dell laptop: "Fn" keys and system beep

[matt.price at utoronto.ca]

Quoting matt.price at utoronto.ca:

forgot to describethe second issue mentioned in the subject line:  I can't turn
off the system beep!  so when I'm working at the ocmmand line, there are
horrible loud beeps every time I press tab, or backspace too far...  I'm really
a terrible nuisance!  can anyone tell me how to do that?

matt