The LangaList

A few months ago I told you about my initial reactions to BeOS 4.0--- a new dark-horse operating system contender. It looked extremely promising.

This week, I just had a chance to try the shipping version and some new applications for the OS. Once again, it was an honest-to-goodness "Wow" experience.

The BeOS has a polish and slickness that’s lacking in many of the current Linux distributions: where Linux often feels rough-edged and unfinished, the BeOS feels like a full-blown, commercial quality system.

All the details are available in this week's InformationWeek Online column, including my first test drive of a new Office-style productivity suite designed for the BeOS from the ground up. It's pretty impressive!

The more time I spend with the BeOS, the more I like it. As more apps become available, this OS just could turn out to be a dark horse winner in the OS races.

But what’s your take? Is the BeOS on your or your company’s "watch" list? If you’re familiar with Be, do you think the "Media OS" play is wise, or too limiting; would you consider it for a general-purpose OS? What apps have you tried, and to what effect? If you’re not familiar with Be, is that because of a lack of marketing, or is there something about Be that puts you off---and if so, what? What would it take to get you to try the BeOS?

Either way, join in the week-long discussion of this dark-horse OS contender at http://www.informationweek.com/langaletter !

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IE5/CleanSweep Conflict

Reader Shelton Leslie sends along this tip:

Fred,

I recently found a solution to a problem with IE 5. I was getting an error (GFP.. APITRAP.DLL or KERNEL32.DLL) browser tune would not cause this IE lockup although certain sites would on a regular basis. It was very annoying to have to restart IE 5 and try again. The problem turned out to be caused by CleanSweep 4 and it's modified APITRAP. DLL There is a patch at Symantec for others with the problem.

Thanks Shelton!

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New Win98 Patches & Updates

Wow--- there’re four significant new updates and patches available on the Update pages at Microsoft.com!

1) The Update to Internet Explorer Components patch combines previously released updates to help "your computer from potential hackers." It fixes:

• An "IMG SRC" tag bug
• A new variant of the cross-frame security bug
• A new variant of the untrusted scripted paste bug 

Want more info? See http://microsoft.com/security/bulletins/ms99-012.asp  )

2) The Internet Explorer Information and Privacy Update prevents someone from using a DHTML ActiveX control to access files or read info on your system. (More info? See http://microsoft.com/security/bulletins/ms99-011.asp   )

3) Our old favorite, the Windows Continuous-Operation Fix, is back, this time in a Win98-specific flavor. "This update corrects a timing problem in the Windows 98 operating system. After 49.7 days of continuous operation, your computer may stop responding and require rebooting. "

But note: Microsoft says "This fix has not been fully tested and should only be downloaded if you are experiencing this specific problem. If you are not affected, Microsoft recommends that you do not download this fix."

So you probably DO NOT need this fix unless you somehow manage to keep you PC running for over seven weeks straight without a crash, reboot, or restart. (If you know how to do that--- tell me, please! 8-) )

4) The 128 bit Upgrade to Internet Explorer 5 and Internet Tools is a relatively small patch that give you better security when you use your browser for credit card or other confidential transactions. (Note: because of some obsolete US Government restrictions, the 128-bit versions is available only to US and Canadians residents.)

You should be able to access these patches via the Windows Update link in the Start menu, or by any of the other download routes we've discussed in previous issues (see http://www.langa.com/newsletters/May-10-99.htm for example...)

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Stealth IE5 Repair Tool?

WinMag Executive Editor Dave Methvin told me about this tool, which I’d never heard about:

Microsoft says the tool---which is included with Internet Explorer 5!---"can be used to diagnose and possibly fix problems with Internet Explorer 5…. It is used to identify problems with Internet Explorer caused by the presence of files that are out of date." In other words, it’s a tool that tries to remedy "DLL Hell!"

According to the information at http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q194/1/77.asp this tool looks at literally hundreds of files on your system to ensure they’re correct. It can replace incorrect files with the correct ones, and even "restore or repair the desktop or Start Menu shortcuts for Internet Explorer that have been deleted or do not function properly. " Hmmmm.

In Microsoft's own words, here’s how you access the tool (It’s well hidden!):

1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Add/Remove Programs.

2. On the Install/Uninstall tab, click Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, click Add/Remove, click "Repair the current installation of Internet Explorer", and then click OK.

If the Repair tool detects an error, it may generate the following error message or one similar to it:

Internet Explorer 5 cannot be repaired. Please reinstall Internet Explorer 5.

If you then click Details, you may receive an explanation for the problem. For example, you may receive the following types of explanations:

Internet Explorer 5 cannot be repaired due to the following errors: File <file name> is missing.

Internet Explorer 5 cannot be repaired due to the following errors: Version 4.72.3110.0 of file <file name> exists but needs to be greater than 5.0.808.1000. In order to fix a problem of this nature, it is recommended that Internet Explorer 5 be re-installed.

NOTE: The result of the repair process is logged in the "Fix IE Log.txt" file in the Windows folder.

Curiously, I was able to access the tool as described above, but Dave wasn’t. Maybe the tool itself sometimes needs repair? 8-)

Anyway, it’s worth checking out. Thanks, Dave!

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More Reader "PUKA" and Defrag Tips!

Over at http://bbs.winmag.com/columns/archives/052399/monday/column.asp?frames=yes , the discussion continues about fixing the Puka (unwanted drive access) problem and defrag hassles. The suggestions are excellent; man, you folks are great!

Here’s an example:

Dear Fred Langa,

This is George Gombos again. I have sent you e-mail a while back about my AOL MTU Win9x workaround: http://users.aol.com/axcel216/newtip7.htm#AOLMTU   and the Bootup Floppy tip: http://users.aol.com/axcel216/newtip4.htm#BOOT  which you have (very kindly!) mentioned in a past LangaList issue.

The subject of this message is the annoying floppy/removable drive access in Win9x. I have posted a comprehensive article with possible causes and solutions a while back at my web site: http://users.aol.com/axcel216/newtip2.htm#ANNOY also included in my Win9x/DOS7 Tricks + Secrets files [W95-11D.ZIP, 640 KB, freeware for non-profit use]: http://users.aol.com/axcel216/95.htm as part of MYTIPS95.TXT [topic: "FLOPPY (OR ANY OTHER DRIVE) ACCESS ANNOYANCE!"].

If you find the time to take a look, please post the URL if this helps or adds anything new to "squashing" the floppy drive access "bug".

I continue enjoying the LangaList and appreciate your excellent work.

Respectfully,
George Gombos
E-mail: axcel216@aol.com
URL: http://users.aol.com/axcel216/

Nice stuff, George. Thanks!

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Did I mention how good you folks are? 8-)

Here an example where two emails that arrived almost simultaneously asked and then answered a question:

Fred your news letter is very informative. I have a question. How do you sort alphabetically the favorites file in ie5? For that matter how do you sort the programs list in win98 alphabetically? --- Ralph E. Curcio

Almost the very next letter contained this:

Hello Fred!

I have a tip for you that I just discovered. Since installing I.E. 5.0 along with the Active Desktop component (which I generally have turned off), when I add new links to my Favorites and when I install new applications, both the Favorites and the Start Menu Programs are no longer alphabetized. This holds true on both my WinNT and Win98 boxes.

I've tried a couple of utilities that are supposed to re-alphabetize Favorites and Start Menu with little success. So here's what I did. First I emptied the Recycle Bin and made sure that it was NOT set to delete items immediately. Next I opened Windows Explorer and navigated to my Favorites folder. I selected everything in the Favorites folder and deleted it...including all sub-directories. Then I opened Recycle Bin, selected everything and did an Undo. When I opened up I.E., all Favorites and Favorites sub-directories were once again in alphabetical order!

The same procedure works for application program groups under the Start Menu.

Hope you are well!

Regards,

Kenneth Holley

Man, you folks are good! (And thanks, Ken!)

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Two Gigs, and Growing... and Growing, and Growing

It's been a fun week: some luminaries from the early days of BYTE have joined the discussion of the timeline I told you about in the last issue. ( See http://www.langa.com/newsletters/May-24-99.htm )

It spans the first two-decades of the PC revolution, and also lets you see BYTE in its full historical context. It’s a mix of information from the computing world at large, from within BYTE itself, and with some headlines from the world news to help you get a feel for what was happening when.

If you lived through those days, you’ll find a lot of memories in the timeline. And if you’re new to BYTE or to computing, fasten your seat belts for a high-speed ride through the history of small computers. We hope you find it an exhilarating, informative and entertaining ride!

The column, timeline and discussion are all live, right now, over at http://www.byte.com/ . Join in!

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Nice mix this week:

• A free demo disk of a very useful app
• See how desperate they were to get online
• Good anti-hoax info
• This guy rates a dot-ORG? Yikes!
• Fighting nature with nature.
• Too ugly for words!
• Good tech resource.

Visit the hotspots site--- a great new site, every day--- at http://www.browsertune.com/flanga/hotspots.htm !

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Thanks!

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Frequent contributor Marti Coley writes:

You might be a Redneck Jedi if...

• You ever heard the phrase, "May the force be with y'all."
• Your Jedi robe is camouflage.
• You have ever used your light saber to open a bottle of Bud Light.
• At least one wing of your X-Wings is primer colored.
• You can easily describe the taste of an Ewok.
• The worst part of spending time on Dagobah is the dadgum skeeters.
• Wookies are offended by your B.O.
• You have ever used the force to get yourself another beer so you didn't have to wait for a commercial.
• You have ever used the force in conjunction with fishing/bowling.
• Your father has ever said to you, "Shoot, son come on over to the dark side...it'll be a hoot."
• You have ever had your R-2 unit use its self-defense electro-shock thingy to get the barbecue grill to light.
• You have a confederate flag painted on the hood of your land-speeder.
• You ever fantasized about Princess Leah wearing Daisy Duke shorts.
• You have the doors of your X-wing welded shut and you have to get in through the window.
• Although you had to kill him, you kinda thought that Jabba the Hutt had a pretty good handle on how to treat his women.
• You have a cousin who bears a strong resemblance to Chewbacca.
• You suggested that they outfit the Millennium Falcon with redwood deck.
• You were the only person drinking Jack Daniels during the cantina scene.
• If you hear, "Luke, I am your father ... and your uncle."

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See you next issue!

Best,

Fred

( fred@langa.com )

(P.S. Please email the LangaList to a friend! Use this super-fast form !)

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