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The LangaList
16-Dec-99
A Free Email Newsletter from Fred Langa About BrowserTune,
HotSpots, Columns, Tips & Tricks, and Other Activities
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1) Thanks A 1.1 Million!
In the last two weeks, you folks have pulled over *1.1 million pages* off the BrowserTune server!
With all that activity, BT2K itself operated with extremely high reliability--- well above a 99% success rate. I've fixed the tiny number or actual bugs reported, and can now say with a very high degree of confidence that if you run BT2K and encounter a problem, it's almost surely a *browser* or system problem and not a *BT2K test* problem.
And as usual, you folks have been absolutely great and have made numerous suggestions beyond bug fixes (see the items below). I've implemented many of these as well.
In the next few days, we hope to move BT2K to a less-stressed server and---the plan calls for Monday Dec 20th---to release BT2K to the general public.
Meanwhile, the BT2K release candidate remains open for the private use of LangaList subscribers: Get your tests in before the doors open to the general public! http://www.browsertune.com/bt2kfast
Click to
email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit2.htm
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--------------(
the above is an advertisement )-------------- One of the toughest Level Two
Tests in BT2K is the scripting page: More browsers die there than on any other
single page. Although properly-installed and fully-functioning browsers sail
through the test without a hitch, heavily modified browsers (such as the AOL
variant of Internet Explorer) often stumble and cannot complete the page. The BT2K help pages suggest a
series of possible fixes, but reader Dinos Lambropoulos found a solution I'd
missed--- it was buried in Microsoft Knowledgebase in such a way my keyword
searches never found it: I commend you on an
excellent newsletter and an excellent browser test suite. I had a suggestion
regarding your Two Minute Torture Test that might help other BT2K users. The
first three or four times I ran the test, I received a scripting error;
specifically, my version of IE 5.01 on Win98 was choking on the window &
text intensive Web scripting operations. I tried your suggestions at http://www.browsertune.com/bt2kfast/fail.htm
but had no luck. Then I found this article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base about
troubleshooting IE scripting problems: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q181/6/98.ASP
. Voila! -- my browser passed the Two Minute Torture test. Keep up the great
work. I learn something new from you every week. Thanks, Dinos! I'll bet that will
help many, many people! Click to
email this item to a friend In the last issue, I wrote this
about BT2K: Sometimes I feel like
I'm beating my head against a wall. How can I make things clearer? How can I
ensure people actually read the text and follow the links? That's not a rhetorical
question: If you have any suggestions as to how I can ensure that people
actually read the text and follow the provided links, I'd love to hear 'em Many of you responded. I heard
from teachers, support technicians, writers, people in business, military
trainers and leaders, librarians, shop owners, and many others, all of whom have
struggled with getting people to follow instructions. One reader (Bob Cortner) told me
about a time he expressed a similar frustration to his pastor at church: The
pastor was philosophic about it and replied that people don't follow the 10
commandments, either. 8-) The consensus view seems to be
that no matter what you say or do, no matter what you write, some number of
people just aren't gonna follow the instructions, no way, no how. Many who wrote
in said that because I was getting well under a 1% rate of people not following
the instructions, I should count my blessings; they said a 10% rate is more
typical! Yikes! Many others who wrote suggested I
simply remind users of the old acronym RTFM: Read The [um, Fine] Manual. But my favorite suggestion to
keep me from "beating my head against a wall" came from reader Rick
O'Gorman. He simply suggested I stand further away from the wall. Sage
advice. <g> Thank you to all who wrote in! Click to
email this item to a friend -------------(
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-------------(
the above is an advertisement )-------------- A few issues ago, I wrote "I
expect all of next year to be a kind of 'Plague Year' online." And in the
issues since, that prediction seems to be coming true (see http://www.langa.com/newsletters/dec-6-99.htm
). This past Wednesday, yet another
worm came to light: the W32.NewApt.Worm It's so new the antivirus people
are only just now developing detection and repair tools for it. The worm will
email itself out to others via Microsoft Outlook or Netscape Navigator. Symantec says: When activated, the worm
will display an error dialog and modify the registry so the worm is reloaded
each time the computer is restarted. The error message box will appear as [a
message about a missing DLL]. When received by email
(and if you do not have an HTML capable email client), the message body will be: he, your lame client
cant read HTML, haha. Otherwise, the text will
include a reference to a website and the following message: Hypercool Happy Year
2000 funny programs and animations…. Attached to the message
will be one of the following file names: g-zilla.exe, cooler3.exe, cooler1.exe,
copier.exe, video.exe, pirate.exe, goal1.exe, hog.exe, party.exe, saddam.exe,
monica.exe, boss.exe, farter.exe, cheeseburst.exe, panther.exe, theobbq.exe,
goal.exe, baby.exe, bboy.exe, cupid2.exe, fborfw.exe, casper.exe, irnglant.exe,
or gadget.exe The worm will add the
following registry key: HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Command/Run/tpanew To remove the worm from
memory, remove the above registry key and then restart. Delete all infected
files. And update your anti-virus
definition files; most AV vendors will have a fix for this very soon. Do you think the recent upsurge
in destructive viruses is a temporary anomaly, or a portent of things to come?
Have you or your business instituted formal, proactive antivirus procedures, or
do you rely on casual or reactive measures? Is it better to scan for viruses at
the server or firewall, or at the desktop, or both? What products have you found
especially noteworthy?
Join in the discussion at http://www.informationweek.com/langaletter!
Click to
email this item to a friend I've gotten a number of reader
emails asking about this message that they've gotten: TO ALL IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED ANY OF THESE The "Let everyone know of
this" is a clue; almost all email hoaxes use language like that so you will
unwittingly help spread the hoax. It's easy to check up on these
hoaxes, for free. (And please do check; never forward an email just because
someone else sent you a message with "tell everyone" in it.) For example, if you click to http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/
you'll see that this is indeed a hoax mail. Always check out new virus and
hoax alerts yourself. Otherwise, you're letting yourself become part of the
problem! Click to
email this item to a friend The LangaList is
approaching a major milestone number of subscribers: Can you do me a favor and
help me reach it? If you each could
just get *one* friend to sign up---just one!---it'd mean a lot to me. Can you
help? Your friend just may find a new source of useful information; I just may
gain a new subscriber; and 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 Or, win a copy of
"Poor Richard's E-Mail Publishing: Creating Newsletters, Bulletins,
Discussion Groups and Other Powerful Communications Tools." This book has
been described as "An excellent, straightforward manual on email
publishing, banner ads, driving traffic and especially ethics." (Full
details also available via this link): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#2 Either way, thank
you, and good luck! Click to
email this item to a friend In the last issue I told you
about the acronym for "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch" and
discussed two "free" services. One was ExpertCity, a web site offering
near-real-time "live" help. (See http://www.langa.com/newsletters/dec-13-99.htm#3
) Today (16-Dec-99) ExpertCity ( http://www.expertcity.com
) is scheduled to come out of beta, and will become a for-pay service. The PR
people there tell me that you only have to pay if you're satisfied with the
answer you get; they have a money-back guarantee. That's an interesting twist. Many readers suggested similar
help sites---some free, some for pay. For example: http://www.chalk.com
This site offers free tech support via e-mail on everything from Windows to
Macintosh, hardware and software. The techs (myself included) do try to answer
questions within a few days.---Dennis "Guru-X" Deveaux Check out http://www.fixwindows.com
I just recently found it and was really impressed with the help to Common
Windows problems.---Jason A. Wallwork Fred here's another
really good bios information site I use all the time. http://www.ping.be/bios/
Keep up the good work and Merry Christmas to you and yours---Jim Bergstrom http://www.NoWonder.com
offers free support for Mac, Windows, OS/2, BeOS, Linux/UNIX, and Web/HTML. If
offers a premium service (they pay people to answer these questions rather than
rely on volunteers) for faster responses and since being recently bought-out
plan to introduce live, interactive support and bidding.--- Peter Burgess (other
readers also mentioned NoWonder) There is also http://www.help.com
--- WingmanMD http://www.liveknowledge.com
is basically the same thing--- the customer posts a question and states how much
they are willing to pay for the answer and then we bid on it. I have seen many
people post questions with a price of "free" - and I have seen a lot
of answers - also for "free."---Jonathan Benson We too offer such a
service--- http://www.SandysSoftwareMagic.com
--- but ours is based on the concept of service first and then the
"customer" decides what the service is worth. As far as I know we are
the first to do things this way, much like the shareware concept, but with
service.---Jim Cales I have been using a
similar site for almost two years and haven't been asked for any renumeration
yet. The URL for this site is: http://www.allexperts.com/
--- Jamie Yee Thanks to all who wrote in! Click to
email this item to a friend -------------(
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--------------(
the above is an advertisement )-------------- If you've followed my work at
all, you know I am dead-set against spam. I follow three rules: 1) No one has ever been
added to or retained on my subscriber list against their will, and no one ever
will be. 2) I have never sold or
given away any subscriber names, and never will. 3) I have never emailed
any subscriber anything but what they have signed up for, and I never will. So you can imagine how honked off
I was last week to start getting bounceback emails from someone called "gyne"
at langa.com." The email was spam, titled "For Serious Marketers
ONLY!," and was a come-on for some illegal bulk email service: A spammer
offering spam services to others, for a fee. Of course, there is no "gyne"
at langa.com; what these morons had done was fake an email header to make their
spam look as if it had come from langa.com. Note that it did *not* actually come
from here at all; in fact, the email was routed through a server in China. The company sending the spam is
"The Marketing Center" with a phone drop---just an answering
machine---operating out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Their number is too new to
be listed in any reverse-lookup directories, so I don't have a physical address
for them. Yet. I've called them and left a
rather pointed message on their machine, and am investigating my other options
with the Florida Attorney General, BellSouth, and the FCC. It's a bit murky
because none of the mail actually went through my server; all they did was make
up a fake "from" email address. But still, it's clearly wrong and
unethical. I hated spam before, but I am
ballistic now. Please know that if you ever get
anything that even remotely resembles spam from any address at langa.com, it's
*not* from me. Click to
email this item to a friend This fits in well with the
"not getting the instructions" item above. Although this story has
made the rounds and may be apocryphal, it's supposedly from the WordPerfect
support desk; this version was sent to me by reader "tbellitt." I can
believe it's all true except for the last part, which is a bit unkind and
probably represents the support technicians' fantasy answer.... what he or she
wished he/she could have said: "Computer assistance; may I
help you?" Click to
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LangaList Sponsor!) ------------
--------------( the above is an
advertisement )-------------- See you next issue! Best, (Please recommend
the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win a Palm III) An easier-to read formatted HTML version is
available in the "what's new" section of http://www.langa.com.
(The HTML version of each issue normally is available by 9AM EST [GMT-5] of the
issue date.) All past LangaList issues are also available via the same link. 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 About
the advertisers: Langa Consulting LLC will never knowingly accept
advertising for a fraudulent product, company or service. However, Langa Consulting LLC makes no implied or explicit warranty, recommendation or endorsement
of or for the products, companies or services mentioned in the ads. Disclaimer:
The tips and other information given in the newsletter are researched and are
believed to be accurate, but we cannot and do not guarantee that all the
information here will work on all systems, for all users, all the time. All
information herein is offered as-is and without warranty of any kind. Neither
Langa Consulting LLC, nor its employees nor contributors are responsible for any
loss, injury, or damage, direct or consequential, resulting from application of
any information presented here. This newsletter is a free service of Langa Consulting LLC and is Copyright © 1999 Langa Consulting LLC. All rights reserved.2)
A Fix For Scripting Woes?
http://www.langa.com/sendit2.htm3)
A Fix For "Not Reading The Instructions?"
http://www.langa.com/sendit2.htm4)
The Plague Year Ramps Further
click attachment to see some stunningly HOT stuff
We attached our recent animation from this
site in our mail ! Check it out!
http://www.langa.com/sendit2.htm5)
A Good Year for Virus Hoaxes, Too
GAMES = FROGAPULT.EXE ELFBOWL.EXE
(FROG GAME) & (ELF BOWLING GAME)
PLEASE CAN YOU DELETE THEM COMPLETELY
OUT OF YOUR SYSTEM AS THEY BOTH
HAVE A DELAYED VIRUS ATTACHED TO THEM
THAT WILL BE ACTIVATED ON
CHRISTMAS DAY AND WILL WIPE OUT YOUR SYSTEM.
LET EVERYONE KNOW OF THIS.
http://www.langa.com/sendit2.htm6)
Soooooo Close!
http://www.langa.com/sendit2.htm7)
TANSTAAFL, Take Two
http://www.langa.com/sendit2.htm8)
The Fake "Gyne" Langa.Com Address
http://www.langa.com/sendit2.htm9)
Just For Grins
"Yes, well, I'm having trouble with WordPerfect."
"What sort of trouble?"
"Well, I was just typing along, and all of a sudden the words went
away."
"Went away?"
"They disappeared."
"Hmm. So what does your screen look like now?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"It's blank; it won't accept anything when I type."
"Can you move your cursor around the screen?"
"There isn't any cursor: I told you, it won't accept anything I type."
"Does your monitor have a power indicator?"
"What's a monitor?"
"It's the thing with the screen on it that looks like a TV. Does it have a
little light that tells you when it's on?"
"I don't know."
"Well, then look on the back of the monitor and find where the power cord
goes into it. Can you see that?"
"Yes, I think so."
"Great. Follow the cord to the plug, and tell me if it's plugged into the
wall."
"Yes, it is."
"When you were behind the monitor, did you notice that there were two
cables plugged into the back of it, not just one?"
"No."
"Well, there are. I need you to look back there again and find the other
cable."
"Okay, here it is."
"Follow it for me, and tell me if it's plugged securely into the back of
your computer."
"I can't reach."
"Uh huh. Well, can you see if it is?"
"No."
"Even if you maybe put your knee on something and lean way over?"
"Oh, it's not because I don't have the right angle - it's because it's
dark."
"Dark?"
"Yes -the office light is off, and the only light I have is coming in from
the window."
"Well, turn on the office light then."
"I can't."
"No? Why not?"
"Because there's a power failure."
"A power... a power failure? Aha, Okay, we've got it licked now. Do you
still have the boxes and manuals and packing stuff your computer came in?"
"Well, yes, I keep them in the closet."
"Good. Go get them, and unplug your system and pack it up just like it was
when you got it. Then take it back to the store you bought it from."
"Really? Is it that bad?"
"Yes, I'm afraid it is."
"Well, all right then, I suppose. What do I tell them?"
"Tell them you're too stupid to own a computer."
http://www.langa.com/sendit2.htm
Fred
(fred@langa.com)
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