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Please note: Older issues may contain information that is now out of date. How To Subscribe
and Unsubscribe is at the end of this note. Mailing List Trouble? See http://www.langa.com/help.txt Please recommend the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win $10,000 !) An easier-to
read formatted HTML version of this newsletter is available on line at The LangaList 2000-05-29 A Free Email
Newsletter from Fred
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Man, some of the posts in the
WinMag discussion on finding and fixing resource "leaks" are
absolutely great! I'm busy testing a pile of apps that claim to fix or prevent
resource leaks, and many of those apps are ones that other readers have
suggested and recommended in the column's discussion area. By coincidence, one of the apps I
mentioned in the last issue (AntiCrash) was updated just as that LangaList issue
went into the mails. When the author deleted the previous version, the link I
gave you went dead. (Sigh.) Here's a link to the new file, in case you want to
test this app along with me: http://www.winsite.com/info/pc/win95/sysutil/anticrash30.zip/ There are other interesting (and
free!) apps being recommended by your fellow readers, too. For example, reader
Bruce Starling says: A fine app that I have
found which identifies all the items running is ATM (Another Task Manager) It
gives you name of the app, CPU usage, the full path of the app, as well as
numerous other bits of information. Although I have personally used it to shut
off things I didn't need running and also didn't KNOW were running. I wouldn't
suggest you do it, unless you know which ones to shut down. ATM won't DO this
for you, but at least it shows you what IS a resource hog. You can find ATM at: http://atm.idic.caos.it/loweng.html Thanks Bruce, and all the many
readers who have participated so far! The discussion is far from
over--- in fact, the WinMag column is "Part One" of what will be at
least a two-parter. So if you haven't clicked over, there's still time to
collect all the tidbits and free app information being posted by your fellow
readers. Check it out! http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2000/11.htm Click to
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See that glow on the horizon?
That's me, blushing. You see, I did something incredibly, unbelievably,
spectacularly dumb a few weeks ago. In more than 20 years of business travel,
I've only done it once before, and I truly hope never to do it again. Want to know how? I put the
details in a three-part column for Portable Life that explains (1) where you can
get FREE or low-cost hardware and internet access in almost any city and most
larger towns in the US and in many other countries; (2) how you can access your
normal POP-based ISP email (again, for free) from *any* PC, anywhere; and (3)
how you can access your essential files and documents, even if your PC is
totally dead. Even if you don't use a laptop or
portable, the tricks I used still can be useful to you anytime you need to go
online for mail or files and can't get at your regular PC. Parts One and Two have already
appeared: 1) http://www.portablelife.com/news/story/0,1089,1071,00.html 2) http://www.portablelife.com/news/story/0,1089,1245,00.html Part Three will be posted later
this week--- watch for it on the Portable Life site ( http://www.portablelife.com/
). With a lot of luck, you won't
ever need these tips. But if you're ever unable to use your regular PC or
laptop, they can really save your bacon! Click to
email this item to a friend We discussed email address
"ailases" in a recent issue. For reasons of internal routing or to
give you an easier-to-remember address, some ISPs, email servers or gateways
disguise your real email address and instead give you an alias. (See http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-05-22.htm#6
) External mail services usually
see your real address---not your alias---and this can cause all kinds of
trouble. For example, you may try to sign up for an email service using your
alias, but the service actually may record your real name. Later, the service
may not recognize you if you identify yourself via the alias! If you're reading this in email
(and not on the Langa.Com website), look at the very first line of the body of
this message: It shows you how my mailing list software has you registered:
That's your for-real email address. If it doesn't match with what you think your
address is, you've been aliased by your ISP or mail service! I previously mentioned that MSN
was one such service. C.R. Parker and some other MSN users wrote to tell me
this: MSN does tell members,
on the Member Services pages, that they can use either e-mail address:
name@msn.com or name@email.msn.com. That's true. But they don't tell
you that the short form is actually an alias. In fact, I have an MSN account,
and ended up on my own newsletter mailing list twice! (Once as myname@msn.com
and once as myname@email.msn.com. It's *very* easy to get into trouble with
aliases, even on your own mailing list!) Check out your own address either
by the techniques described in the above-referenced earlier issue, or by
checking the top line of this or any recent LangaList issue you receive by
email. Once you know what it is, it's a
much better idea always to use your real address, if possible; simply avoid
using the alias. That way, there's no confusion. Click to
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On the 31st, I'll
choose another monthly winner of 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." To have a shot at
winning, just use the following link to recommend the LangaList to a
friend. Your friend just may find a new source of useful information; I just may
gain a new subscriber; and you just may win a book! (Full details also available
via this link): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#2 The more times you
make a recommendation, the greater your chances are of winning! Or, if you'd like to
try to win $10,000(really!), try this link (full details also available here): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#1 Either way, thank
you, and good luck! Click to
email this item to a friend I've written about NetMechanic
before--- it's a collection of web-based tools that can help you discover
problems with any web pages or sites you create. They offer free versions of
some of the tools, and these are fine for smaller sites or for trial runs. If
you have a large site and like the trial, then you can sign up for heavier-duty
versions at reasonable cost. They've added a new feature that
goes beyond simply diagnosing problems with your HTML coding: If you wish, the
service can actually generate a fully-functional corrected/repaired version of
your page, on the fly, in seconds. You can save the corrected page and use the
code on your site. The service also looks for broken
links, spelling errors, alignment problems, unoptimized graphics, and the like. I tried the "HTML
Tools" service while it was in beta, and the results were pretty good. Of
course, no automated service is as good as skillful human eyeballs (think about
the sometimes-bogus recommendations you get from your spell- or
grammar-checker). But it's still an educational and worthwhile tool; I found
some errors on my pages I didn't realize were there. And the service was free. Alas, the final version of the
HTML Tools isn't free: It now costs $35 for a year's worth of site analysis (you
can run an analysis as often as once a week, if you wish). Still, if
you're serious about making your pages as good as they can be, it might be
worthwhile: Check it out at http://www.netmechanic.com/info/toolbox.htm Click to
email this item to a friend The folks at PC Pitstop have
added a free online antivirus scanner that can look for viruses in the most
common infection sites on your system; or on your whole system; or just in
user-selected parts of your system. Like the rest of PC Pitstop, it
relies on several OCX controls to work; as such, it works for Windows-based
system running Internet Explorer. If that describes your setup, give the new AV
scanner a try: http://www.pcpitstop.com/pcpitstop/av.asp
. Click to
email this item to a friend Do you have a home page or
website? (It doesn't matter what size.) Please click over to http://www.langa.com/code.htm,
and maybe you can join the hundreds and hundreds of LangaList readers who have
"Loaded the Code!" Speaking of which: Here's another
eclectic sample of reader sites--- some professional, some very personal: Click to
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The Byte.Com "Monitor"
column on whether or not Internet/Web use fosters social isolation is still
drawing great responses, especially as word of the column ripples out and
more and more people are seeing it. Take this for example: Hi Fred, I enjoyed your column on
the Stanford study about the web and social isolation. I thought you might be
interested in a new study that supports your criticisms of the Stanford
research. To be fair, this study is much smaller and isn't as ambitious as the
Stanford study. It only aims to look at e-mail use vs. telephone use, and it
only surveyed Ohio residents. But the researchers found exactly what you
suspected: about half the people say they use the telephone less because of
their use of e-mail. The researcher also finds that the telephone and e-mail
complement each other, and meet different needs. One researcher concludes that
"people are finding ways to use e-mail to extend a sense of caring and
community within their circle of friends and family. E-mail helps them keep in
touch in situations when they might otherwise not be able to communicate." My disclosure: I'm a
science writer at Ohio State and wrote the following news release about the
study. You can find my news release at: http://www.acs.ohio-state.edu/units/research/archive/perscomm.htm Best regards, Jeff Grabmeier Thanks, Jeff! Please join the discussion
associated with the Monitor column in question (at http://www.byte.com/column/BYT20000517S0001
). After you get the rest of the story, please share your thoughts in the Byte
Newsgroups either by clicking to http://www.byte.com/nntp/monitor
or by using your newsreader to access news.cmpnet.com, and from there,
cmpnet.byte.monitor. Join in! Click to
email this item to a friend Here's another great hoax mail
.... It's from the hoax archives at http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/stooopid/burlap.htm
. (Thanks to Tony King, for sending it along.) Uh, no, forget that. It's not a
hoax. It's real. Yeah, that's the ticket: It's real! I swear! My cousin's
friend's hairdresser's boyfriend's sister's fiancee's babysitter's psychic
advisor knows this kid! Honest! 8-) Subject: A plea from a
VERY sick child! I am a very sick little
boy. My mother is typing this for me, because I can't. She is crying. Don't cry,
Mommy! Mommy is always sad, but she says it's not my fault. The reason she is so
sad is that I'm so sick. I was born without a body. It doesn't hurt, except when
I go to sleep. The doctors gave me an
artificial body. My body is a burlap bag filled with leaves. The doctors said
that was the best they could do on account of us havin' no money or insurance. I
would like to have a body transplant, but we need more money. Mommy doesn't work
because she said employers don't hire crying people. I said, "Don't cry,
Mommy," and she hugged my burlap body. Mommy always gives me hugs, even
though she's allergic to burlap, and it chafes her real bad. I hope you will help me.
You can help me if you forward this e-mail. Dr. Johansen said if you forward
this e-mail then Bill Gates will team up with AOL and do a survey with NASA.
Then the astronauts will collect prayers from school children all over America
and take them up to space so that the angels can hear them better. Then they
will go to the Pope, and he will take up a collection in church and send the
money to the doctors. The doctors could help me better then. Maybe one day I will be
able to play baseball. Or maybe just use my lungs and heart, when the doctors
make them. The doctors said that every time you forward this letter, the
astronauts can take another prayer to the angels. Please help me. Mommy is so
sad, and I want a body. I don't want my leaves to rot before I turn 10. If you
don't forward this e-mail, that's OK. Mommy says you're a mean heartless person
who doesn't care about a poor little boy with only a head. Please help me. I try to
be happy but it's hard. I wish I had a puppy. I wish I could hold a puppy. Thank You. Billy
'Smiles' Evans Click to
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See you next issue! Best, (Please recommend
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(The HTML version of each issue normally is available by 9AM EST [GMT-5] of the
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(Please see full disclaimer here: http://www.langa.com/legal.htm.)
Abbreviated version: 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
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