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The
LangaList
2-Aug-99
A Free Email
Newsletter from Fred Langa About BrowserTune,
HotSpots, Columns, Tips &
Tricks, and Other Activities
In This Issue:
It's Here: The
BrowserTune2000 Full Beta!
Win98 Second
Edition Unfit For The Enterprise?
A Boatload of
Official MS Office2000 Fixes and Workarounds
NT Bug Du Jour
Hoax Busters
Puka-Puka Lives!
More Slooooooooow Log
On Fixes
Free Palm III
Just For Grins
More!
It's
Here: The BrowserTune2000 Full Beta!
OK, you've waited long enough.
You've run the BT2K demo (in fact, in aggregate, you and your fellow readers
have run the demo version almost 60,000 times in the last few months!). Now it's
time to see what the full BT2K can do for you!
In a nutshell, it's this: In
minutes, you can determine if your browser's most essential functions are
working properly, and if your Internet connection is up to speed. And if you
choose, you then can zero in on any of over 300 browser features and functions
to see exactly what your browser supports (or doesn't!).
Best of all, there's nothing to
download or install, and no setup whatsoever is required! It's all done with
special web pages!
BT2K is designed to be useful for
you in these ways:
- Comparing competing browsers
(for example, Microsoft's versus Netscape's versus Opera's...)
- Diagnosing what's wrong with a
flaky, unstable, or degraded browser
- Comparing ISP performances
- Verifying that your modem,
cable, LAN or other connection is delivering the speed you're paying for
- Fixing any of the hundreds of
problems that can crop up in today's browsers
- Ensuring that web plug-ins and
add-on components haven't degraded your browser's performance, security, or
stability
- Validating new browser
installations; ensuring that everything installed correctly
- Discovering everything your
browser can do--- not just the basics you may already be familiar with
- Learning about today's best web
technologies
- And much, much more!
BrowserTune 2000
("BT2K") is in late beta. It is nearly finished but there still are
some rough edges. For example, some of the page formatting is still very plain
because I want to make sure the darn thing is fully working before I worry about
making the pages look pretty 8-). Also, there undoubtedly are some bugs that I
haven't been able to uncover yet despite the hundreds and hundreds of test runs
I've tried---it is still a beta, after all.
However, even though this is a
beta, BT2K is extremely safe. It does not and literally cannot alter anything
inside your browser or PC. It is 100% noninvasive and makes no changes
whatsoever to your system. BT2K may uncover hidden problems with your setup
(that's its job) but it cannot and will not create new problems for you.
Also, you're in full control.
BT2K will fully explain everything it's doing before it does it. You'll always
know exactly what's going on, and why. You're always in control of the tests.
This is the key to making the
most of BT2K: Read the instructions that accompany each test. They'll tell you
what's going on, what to expect, and what to do if you run into ANYTHING that
doesn't work properly. For example, every page has a "Problem with this
page?" link at the bottom. If something doesn't seem right and the
on-screen instructions don't explain it, just click that link!
When you run BrowserTune, it will
start by looking for the five most common browser trouble spots--- the areas
that most often interfere with proper browser operation. These preliminary, very
basic tests take only 2-5 minutes, and ensure that your browser's core functions
are at least minimally OK.
If they're not, there's no point
in finishing the rest of BT2K until the core functions are working properly. So,
if BT2K detects trouble or fails to complete any of the preliminary tests, use
the "Problem With This Page?" link that's on every page to get
information on fixing these problems. Once they're fixed, then you'll be all set
to run the more detailed BT2K tests.
If your browser passes the five
preliminary tests you'll then be asked to choose one of two paths through the
rest of BT2K:
The BT2K TWO-MINUTE TUNE-UP
is a fast, highly-automated series of diagnostic tests that takes just minutes
to run. It quickly examines the approximately two-dozen most-common browser
trouble spots. To the largest degree possible the tests are self-running with
automatic scoring of the test results!
At the end of the automated tests
BT2K will offer you a detailed, customized, personalized diagnosis/analysis.
It's like having your own browser technician at your side, giving you
personalized advice!
The BT2K PROFESSIONAL VERSION
starts with the same tests as the Two-Minute Tune-Up (above) but then goes on to
let you examine any or all of BT2K's detailed, incredibly thorough additional
tests. Go as deep or as shallow as you wish: You can test anywhere from one to
over 300 separate features and functions of your browser with automatic scoring
of the test results! You can use these tests to zero in on a specific problem
uncovered by the Quick Tune-Up, or to explore all your browser has to offer, or
to ensure that everything---and I mean everything---is working OK.
At the end of the professional
tests BT2K also will offer you a detailed, customized, personalized
diagnosis/analysis. It's like having your own browser technician at your side,
giving you personalized advice!
OK, enough with the description:
It's time for you to click on over and test drive BT2K for yourself. When you're
done, please jump back here to discuss what you like to (ack!) didn't like, to
report bugs, typos, etc., and to generally provide feedback. BT2K is for you, so
your opinion is critical!
Starting around 3PM (EDT; GMT-4)
Monday August 2, BT2K will be available at http://www.browsertune.com/bt2k/
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Please Visit This LangaList Sponsor!) ------------
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the above is a paid advertisement )--------------
Win98
Second Edition Unfit For The Enterprise?
The WinMag discussion of all the
problems and hassles some users are having with Win98SE has ended, but the
InformationWeek discussion still is going on strong!
Have you installed any of the
Win98SE variants in your business? If so which one(s)? What were the results? Is
Win98 a worthwhile upgrade/update for larger businesses---or is it just a can of
worms waiting to be opened? Join in a separate week-long discussion focused on
high-end Win98SE installations; it's going on right now at http://www.informationweek.com/langaletter
!
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A
Boatload of Official MS Office2000 Fixes and Workarounds
In the last issue ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/Jul-29-99.htm
), I mentioned that Microsoft was beginning to populate its KnowledgeBase with
Office 200 fixes and workarounds. Well, here's a bunch of them---you may want to
save this message in the event of future problems.
By the way, some of the articles
may require that you "join" Microsoft's TechWeb; it's free, and I
think the service is well worth the two minutes it takes to sign up.
Current Office 2000 fixes and
workarounds:
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Please Visit This LangaList Sponsor! )------------
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the above is a paid advertisement )-----------
NT
Bug Du Jour
I can't recall the last time
Microsoft released a security patch for Windows98---it must be flawless, right?
<g>---but they're churning out patches for NT on a regular basis. I guess
that shows where Microsoft's focus is these days, as they count down to
"Windows 2000;" the operating system formerly known as NT5.
This week, it's the
"Malformed Dialer Entry" Bug. This is an NT phone-dialer problem where
a hacker can diddle with the dialer.ini file and gain system privileges he/she
is not entitled to.
This affects NT 4.0 (Workstation,
Server, Enterprise Edition and Terminal Server Edition).
The patch for NT Server,
Enterprise Edition and Workstation:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-public/fixes/usa/NT40/hotfixes-postSP5/Dialer-fix/
The patch for Terminal Server
Edition is at:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-public/fixes/usa/nt40tse/hotfixes-postSP4/Dialer-fix/
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Hoax
Busters
A lot of you seemed to like the
"Tiny Brain Disease" explanation for why so many people send around so
many hoaxes. In addition to the two good hoax-busting sites I mentioned last
week ( http://www.icsa.net/services/consortia/anti-virus/alerthoax.shtml
and http://dir.lycos.com/Society/Urban_Legends/Computer_Virus_Hoaxes/
) reader Veronica Bradly suggests this site too: http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blhoax.htm
In fact, it might be a great idea
to make a form letter based on the above URLs--- you can send it back the next
time some well-meaning person sends you a "Bill Gates Wants To Give You
$1000!!!!!" email.
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Please Visit This LangaList Sponsor! )------------
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the above is a paid advertisement )--------------
Puka-Puka
Lives!
Remember the "Puka
Puka" problem we discussed in previous issues? (See http://www.langa.com/newsletters/May-17-99.htm,
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/May-20-99.htm
and http://bbs.winmag.com/columns/archives/052399/monday/column.asp?frames=yes
)
This was where something would
cause Windows to try to access an empty floppy drive, resulting in a noise that
sounds something like "puka puka…."
This week, reader Ryan Duval
found some additional information:
After countless attempts [including your newsletter's advice] of trying to
keep Windows from accessing my floppy drive [when the Open or Save dialog comes
up, Explorer opens, etc.], I found a section of microsoft.com that helps you get
the most out of Win98. This section was actually helpful and solved a few of my
problems, as well as the floppy drive problem. The section is located at:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/windows/serviceware/win98/default.asp
whereas the floppy
drive article is located at:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/windows/serviceware/win98/E9UC5GYQ5.ASP
Thanks, Ryan!
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More
Slooooooooow Log On Fixes
Many readers wrote to suggest
more fixes for very, very slow dial-up networking logons in addition to the
fixes I suggested last week ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/Jul-29-99.htm#dun
)
Reader Rick was first out of the
gate with this:
In addition to removing unwanted protocols the checkbox in
"Your_connection_name | Properties | Server Types (tab) | Log on to
network" should be cleared for most ISPs. Leaving this checked (which is
the default) will significantly slow down connections.---Rick
Readers Bob O suggests:
Fred, The slow logons could also be the type of modem used. By far the worse
modem is the Rockwell HFC modem. Read about it here:
http://808hi.com/56k/rockhcf.htm
I had this modem and it
was like death waiting for connections AND responses from the internet, not to
mention the all-to-often disconnects. After installing a Paradise Wavecomm PCI
Lucent modem, I get instant logons and never do I get disconnected.---Bob
To these and all the many readers
who wrote in---thanks!
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They
get a newsletter, you get an organizer (maybe)
Just use this link to recommend
the LangaList to a friend, and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win a Palm
III organizer (full details also available via this link):
http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#1
Recommend-It is an ad-based site
(you’ll see banners and such). The advantage to you of using the Recommend-It
service (above) is that (1) you can win a Palm III and (2) 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!
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Just
For Grins:
Aphorisms 'R Us: The flood of
email aphorisms and epigrams just keeps coming....
Some of the better ones:
- It may be that your
sole purpose in life
is simply to serve as a
warning to others.- If at first you don't
succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.
- 99 percent of lawyers
give the rest a bad name.
- Deja Moo: The feeling
that you've heard this bull before.
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See you next issue!
Best,
Fred
( fred@langa.com )
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