How To
Subscribe and Unsubscribe is at the end of this note.
Mailing List Trouble? See http://www.langa.com/help.txt
Want an easier-to-read formatted HTML version? See http://www.langa.com/whats_new.htm
Advertising rates and info available at http://www.langa.com/rate_card.html
Please email the
LangaList to a friend! (Use this super-fast
form !)
The LangaList
18-Aug-99
A Free Email Newsletter from Fred
Langa About BrowserTune,
HotSpots, Columns, Tips & Tricks, and Other Activities
In This Issue:
BT2K Update!
Even More Windows Versions
A Y2K Misunderstanding
Web HotSpots
IE5 Bug, er, Design Flaw, er
Feature...
IIS Bug---and Yes, It's a Bug
Free Gift For A Friend
A Personal Note
Just for Grins
More!
I've posted a major update to the BT2K beta that incorporates many of the
top-priority suggestions you've made over the last couple weeks. (I'm still
working through the list, and will post more updates ASAP!)
Lest the talk of betas and updates alarms you, please note that BT2K succeeds
in over 95% of cases, but I want to get the success rate even higher.
This update is the focus of my WinMag "Dialog Box" discussion this
week; please check out the new beta, and then drop by the discussion (available
via the WinMag front page at http://content.techweb.com/winmag/
) and/or drop me a note at BT2KFeedback@langa.com.
Thanks!
FYI: The BT2K full beta is at http://www.browsertune.com/bt2k/
The BT2K demo (think of it as "BT2K Lite") is still available at http://www.browsertune.com/bt2kdemo/
And the tried-and-true manual version of BrowserTune (BT98) awaits you at http://www.browsertune.com/bt98/
return to top of
page
--------------( Please Visit This
LangaList Sponsor!) ------------
--------------( the above is a paid
advertisement )--------------
It
started as an idle thought: I wanted to count up the current and near-term
versions of Windows. I started to lose track at about three dozen! I posted
those I could think of in my InformationWeek column, but I publicly said I was
pretty sure I didn’t get them all.
And in fact, I didn't: There were the hybrid versions of Windows that shipped
with early copies of OS/2 and with some Windows-on-a-Mac software and hardware;
there were "Small Business Editions" of NT I'd just plain forgotten,
and more.
There are a *lot* of versions of Windows out there, with more to come, such as
the versions code-named "Neptune," "Millennium" and "Janus,"
due out next year.
Drop by this week's InformationWeek column for more information on Janus,
Neptune, and Millennium, and then join in the discussion: Are the many versions
of Windows a sign of vigor or a sign that Microsoft has lost focus? Will
Microsoft be able to pull it all back to a common codebase and if so, will that
help Windows become more stable and reliable, or will Microsoft be reducing its
product differentiation?
If you’re running Win9x, does “Millennium” interest you, or have you
either decided to stay with what you have or jump to Win2K or Neptune? If you’re
into bigger iron, do you think Janus will cut it, or is Microsoft out of its
league?
And what *other* versions of Windows did I miss? Join in the week-long
discussion at http://www.informationweek.com/langaletter
!
return to top of
page
--------------( Please Visit This
LangaList Sponsor!) ------------
--------------( the above is a paid
advertisement )--------------
I got this note from a reader who thought he'd found a simple Y2K
work-around:
Good morning!
Why isn't it mentioned anywhere that one can just set the Bios and System clocks
back 10-20 years to beat the Y2K prob. I have fooled around with it,
everything works fine. Real cheap fix for third world nations and poor
folks alike.
Think about it no one can tell
how you have your clocks set as they read the typed date on materials
sent. You must have played around with this idea also. Why not
publish it and really p*ss off the big M. You will single handedly save
the world BILLIONS.
Well, not exactly. Many systems-level applications depend on the correct
tracking of dates--- backups, updates, etc.
Many productivity applications depend on dates: PIMs and organizers, contact
records, tax programs, checkbook programs, spreadsheets, etc.
Many email readers sort emails by the date sent; a bogus date will place your
emails in reader queues in the wrong place, and perhaps even off the screen and
invisible to the recipient.
The turn-back-the-clock fix would only work for isolated PCs running a
severely limited set of applications. For normal PCs, running normal apps, and
connected to the Internet or online services---and if you're reading this
newsletter, that includes your PC---you need to address the Y2K problem and not
just try to avoid it.
But the fixes are usually easy and often are free. Check 'em out:
http://content.techweb.com/winmag//library/1999/0101/fea0061.htm
return to top of
page
--------------( Please Visit This
LangaList Sponsor! )------------
--------------( the above is an
advertisement )-----------
The HotSpots page ( http://www.browsertune.com/flanga/hotspots.htm
) is cranking out "The Best, Most Interesting, Most Useful, and
Strangest Sites the Web has To Offer" at the rate of one such site a
day, every day, and has been doing so for years--- since before many of you were
on the web, in fact!
Bookmark the Hotspots (many users make it their home page) and every day
you'll find something new, interesting, useful, or funny. Check it out! http://www.browsertune.com/flanga/hotspots.htm
return to top of
page
I'm not sure what to make of the bug reported here: http://www.bugnet.com/alerts/bugalert.html
IE5 will display your name and password when you use it to access
password-protected FTP sites; your name/password appears in the status line.
I never use browser-based FTP, so I never saw this. (I prefer to use
stand-alone FTP products, which I find faster and easier.) And it doesn't
exactly appear to be a bug. For this to be a security issue, someone with evil
intent would have to be physically at your desk or looking over your shoulder as
you performed a browser-based FTP download.
IE5 probably shouldn't echo the name/password like that, but this seems to me
to be a really low-risk kind of problem.
But, your mileage may vary.
return to top of
page
If your or your company runs Microsoft's Internet Information Server 4.0 (by
itself or as part of Microsoft Site Server 3.0, Site Server 3.0 Commerce
Edition, or Commerce Internet Server 2.0 and 2.5) should know there's a new
patch to correct a vulnerability to "denial of service" attacks by
hackers.
More info:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/MS99-029faq.asp
The patch:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/iis/iis-public/fixes/usa/security/hdbrk-fix/x86
return to top of
page
If you use the following link to recommend the LangaList to a friend, that
friend can get their own free copy of this newsletter: It costs you nothing, it
costs them nothing, and it just may help them out. You make out, too, because
you just may win a Palm III organizer for your trouble (full details also
available via this link):
http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#1
The "Recommend-It" service (above) is an ad-based site (you’ll
see banners and such). The advantages to you of using the Recommend-It service
(above) are that you can win a Palm III and that you can add a personal message
to your LangaList recommendation.
But if you’d rather use the tried-and-true, ad-free recommendation form,
you’ll still find it at: http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#2
. You can’t win anything there—except my thanks for helping the
LangaList to grow!
In fact, either way, thank you!
return to top of
page
The reason there's only one issue of the LangaList this week is that I've
been on vacation, and will be returning around the time you're reading this.
Once a year, my wife and I get away from all hi-tech--- computers, phones,
pagers, faxes, TVs, radios and the like--- and rent a small beachfront cottage
for a week. We do have plumbing and electricity (we're not masochists!) but the
nearest phone is about a mile away. It's very re-humanizing and rejuvenating
time for us.
So by the time you read this, I should be returning home a happy guy.
Also, many of you wrote with suggestions for the canoe fishing trip I took
with my son some weeks back. Many thanks for all the ideas! We ended up staying
relatively local and paddled around part of Lake Winnepesaukee--- a large lake
described in the tourist brochures as "...New Hampshire's largest lake...
surrounded by 3 mountain ranges and dotted with 365 islands. It has 72 square
miles of water surface and 283 miles of shoreline." It's a gorgeous spot:
The name Winnepesaukee comes from the local Native American phrase for
"Beautiful Waters In A High Place."
You can get an idea of the area via this link: http://www.msmountwashington.com/.
A lot of the lake is relatively undeveloped, although there's a full complement
of touristy things to do there as well: http://www.weirsbeach.com/
. (And yes, we did take the cruise on the 100 year old M/S Mt. Washington, too.)
It was a great father/son trip. Although it was ostensibly a
"fishing" trip and my son did spent a fair chunk of time with a line
in the water, any of you who are animal activists will be glad to know that no
fish were harmed in the making of this adventure. 8-)
return to top of
page
Many readers have sent in Computer Haiku since I last ran some in this space.
Here's a sampling:
First snow, then silence. This
thousand dollar screen dies so beautifully.
With searching comes loss and the presence of absence: "My Novel" not
found.
A file that big? It might be very useful. But now it is gone.
The Web site you seek cannot be located. But endless others exist.
Chaos reigns within. Reflect, repent, and reboot. Order shall return.
Aborted effort. Close all that you have. You ask far too much.
Windows NT crashed. I am the Blue Screen of Death. No one hears your screams.
Stay the patient course. Of little worth is your ire: The network is down.
A crash reduces your expensive computer to a simple stone
Yesterday it worked. Today it is not working. Windows is like that.
Three things are certain: Death, taxes, and lost data. Guess which has occurred.
You step in the stream, but the water has moved on. This page is not here.
Out of memory. We wish to hold the whole sky, But we never will.
Having been erased, The document you're seeking Must now be retyped.
Serious error. All shortcuts have disappeared. Screen. Mind. Both are blank.
return to top of
page
See you next issue!
Best,
Fred
( fred@langa.com )
--------------( your ad
here?)------------
It costs less than you think!
See http://www.langa.com/rate_card.html
--------------( )--------------
(P.S. Please email the LangaList to a friend! Use this super-fast
form !)
LangaList advertising rates and info available at http://www.langa.com/rate_card.html
An easier-to-read formatted HTML version is available in the "what's
new" section of http://www.langa.com
. All past LangaList issues are also available via the same link.
return to top of page
Administrivia: Why are you getting this
newsletter? There are only two ways to get on the list (direct email request or
via the WinMag mail list signup page) so if you're getting this newsletter; your
name came to me through one of those channels.
SUBSCRIBE (it's free!): Send email to subscribe-langalist@lyris.dundee.net
UNSUBSCRIBE: Send email to unsubscribe-langalist@lyris.dundee.net
LIST TROUBLE? CHANGE OF ADDRESS? HAVE QUESTIONS? NEED HELP?
See http://www.langa.com/help.txt
This newsletter is a free service of Langa Consulting LLC and is Copyright ©
1999 Langa Consulting LLC. All rights reserved.
return to top of page
