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The LangaList
3-Feb-00
A Free Email Newsletter from Fred
Langa
That Helps You Get More From Your Hardware,
Software, and Time Online
1) AOL Class-Action Lawsuit Filed
Just this week, news reports describe how an angry AOL subscriber hired a lawyer to file:
...a class-action lawsuit alleging that the latest version of the company's software--version 5.0--constitutes a deceptive trade practice and violates consumer-protection and computer-tampering laws. The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in Alexandria [VA], seeks damages of up to $1,000 for each of the 8 million people who installed the software.
The full news story with more details is now making the rounds: You can read the Washington Post's column on it here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/business/A60549-2000Feb1.html
A related report carried by the Associated Press also says (in part):
AOL could not be reached for comment immediately, but a spokeswoman earlier said complaints about interference by its software were overblown and the result of customers not understanding that if they click yes during installation to allow AOL to become their default Internet browser, AOL largely takes over all the online functions on the computer.
Wow! Selecting a default *browser* takes over "all the online functions on the computer?" That's like asking for a car wash, and being told that really means you're locked into buying a whole new car.
In my tests, AOL5 installed networking and system files that had absolutely nothing whatsoever--- nada, zip, zero--- to do with choosing a default browser. In actuality, choosing a default browser should ONLY affect things such as which application opens HTML and related web files; that's all. There is no part of choosing a default browser that requires installing network adapters and 4.5 megs of system files!
Reader JC Ford says the AOL spoksperson "...essentially blames the users for the problem, but her comments say a lot about AOL's practices. They are also flat-out wrong. I did not chose to use AOL as the default browser, and my system was still hosed."
I don't know if the lawyers really have a case, but the AOL spokesperson's comments make me hope they do: It really looks like AOL is either incredibly callous or incredibly clueless. Either way, it's not OK.
But what about you? Has your AOL experience differed from mine? Have you found ways around the upgrade hassles? What do you think the future will hold as AOL emerges as the biggest media company on the planet? Join in--- it's sure to be eye-opening, ongoing discussion at http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2000/03.htm . The forum runs continuously--- you can join in any time, read the column, and post your replies at your leisure.
(And thanks to JC Ford and RogerGri, who were the first to alert me to the filing of the lawsuit!)
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Last issue ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/jan-31-00.htm#5)
I told you about a free Win2K compatibility tool from Microsoft that can help
you preview what trouble you might run into installing Windows 2000. It might have been coincidence or
it might have been that many, many of you tried the link at the same time (it
wouldn't be the first time that a horde of LangaList readers have choked a
server! <g> ), but the download was not available for a while. It's back: As of this writing,
the link at http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/upgrade/compat/ready.asp
is working fine. If you try
it and have trouble, just save the link and try again in a little while. Other good pre-install resources
are http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/upgrade/compat/search/default.asp
and http://www.hardware-update.com/. And all the above is discussed in
detail in my current InformationWeek Online column. What are the things you most
dislike about the new OS? What are the most-welcome (or most-needed!)
improvements over NT4 and Win9x? Join in the ongoing discussion live now at http://www.informationweek.com/langaletter
. Click to
email this item to a friend Do you have a home page or
website? (It doesn't matter what size.) Maybe we can help each other out. Please
click on over to http://www.langa.com/code.htm
to see what I'm talking about! Click to
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In the last issue, I told you how
reader Mike Romine had his browser taken over by GoHip's
"Enhancements." Many, many other readers wrote in saying they'd had
the same trouble, and some included emails that showed that GoHip was appending
an ad to the bottom of each outgoing email they sent! Fortunately, a number or readers
also dug out the well-hidden uninstall instructions buried on the GoHip site. If
you've been bitten by this "browser enhancement" and want it off your
system, click here: http://www.gohip.com/remove_browser_enhancement.html Don Johnson was the first reader
to send in the above link, but there were many others who did soon after: Thank
you all! Click to
email this item to a friend Last issue (see http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/jan-31-00.htm#5)we
talked about http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/home,
the online glossary I use most often when I need to look up a definition of some
bit of geek-speak. But---as usual!--- readers had
many, many other excellent suggestions. (You folks are *great!*) Here's a small
sampling: Regarding the request
for a decent glossary, I have found GuruNet ( http://www.guru.net/
)fantastic, free, and uncomplicated to use. It's one of my personal favorites.
---Eugene Pummill I would personally
recommend http://www.whatis.com
---James (and many, many others) Read your most recent
column and the section on Web-based glossaries. Although the one from Byte is
good, I personally prefer the granddaddy of these things, PCWebopedia ( http://www.pcwebopedia.com
). It's bailed my bacon out of the fire on too many occasions to
count.---Charles Miller Click to
email this item to a friend If you think the
LangaList is a worthwhile read, 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 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 I mentioned http://www.snarg.net
in the last issue as a "gee whiz" item: It's visually and aurally
amazing, but a little hard to figure out. In my comments, I wrote
"...all I can say is 'wow!' I don't know what [the site] means..., but it's
an impressive bit of web-coding!" Reader Bill Wilson visited the
site, and soon found that it's frequently updated--- the owners had already
found my newsletter comments and built them right into the pages! Bill says: You're now mentioned on
the site. On the second part "@snarg" the psychedelic green screen it
says in the jumbled text at the bottom, "I just don't get it and neither
does Fred Langa and some other guy." And here's what some other
readers said about that site: That link you included
to www.snarg.net in the Jan 31 newsletter is the most fantastic link I've ever
clicked on. I just spent over 3 hours spelunking that site. I don't believe I've
ever spent that long on a site before and I'll be going back to explore some
more. I hope you stuck with it long enough and were curious enough to get past
the second window. Thanks for providing me with a couple of really enjoyable
hours. A grateful subscriber---Dan Knauf This site gets really
interesting when the first pix shows up you get to actually work with it and
create you own artwork-the more you play the more the options change and so does
the image.---Donna Muse The trick with Snarg.Net is to
move your mouse around to find the hidden hotspots that cause something to
happen. Some of the hotspots don't do anything; instead they just bring up the
default action--- a message about Shockwave, which is the app the site designers
used to create the pages. But other links bring you to sub-pages, and some of
them have additional links---on and on and on. Some readers were disturbed by
some of the messages they saw: "50% hacked" is one that made some
people think they really were being hacked. (They weren't---it's just geek
humor.) But the whole thing was weird
enough that I did a "WhoIs" search to see who was behind the site: It
turns out the site was done by one of a group of very current, edgy designers in
the Pacific Northwest. Their home page is at http://www.howitworks.com/
, and while it's not as extravagant as snarg.net, it's visually interesting in
itself. By the way, you can do a "whois"
lookup too, on any site, and see who owns the site, where it's located, and
more. There's http://www.whois.net/
, http://www.allwhois.com/
, http://swhois.net/ and more.
For additional information, including how I used whois to track down a spammer,
see http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/jan-17-00.htm#3
. Click to
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I covered many, many places where
you can get Windows troubleshooting information (you can search all back issues
at http://www.langa.com) but
every once in a while, I find a new one. Here's one recommended by a reader: I have been a subscriber
to your newsletter for about a year, and look forward to each and every issue.
You've published sites recommended by readers in the past, and I submit this one
for your evaluation. TheTroublewithWindows: http://www.windowstrouble.com I came across this
website recently and found it to be very good at answering many questions
Windows users may have when things start not working the way they are supposed
to. I found the site to be well organized, searchable, not too technical, and
provided links to MS knowledge base articles on specific questions. (A big plus
to anybody that has ever tried to navigate the MS help sites) You can also ask
the staff if your question is not covered on-line Check it out. If you agree
with me, then please share it with my fellow Langalist readers.---W. D. Gartner Thanks, WD! Click to
email this item to a friend It was an interesting week here
in New Hampshire; once the presidential primary voting was over, the candidates
and the media swarm left. A wonderful calm descended upon the countryside, and
the local television news then went back to normal reporting. Now, instead of
portentous reports on "Who will be the next leader of the most powerful
nation on earth?" we get the normal fare of moose attack stories,
drunken-snowmobiler-discovers-the-ice-was-thinner-than-he-thought stories, and
insightful man-on-the-street reports where the camera crew asks pedestrians how
cold the wind chill makes them feel today. Out on the road, I saw two bumper
stickers I really liked during the campaign season: "Warning: I Speed Up
And Run Over Politicians" and "If We Quit Voting Will They All Go
Away? The latter bumper sticker also
was included in the following list of bumper sticker sayings sent in by Kurt
Wilner & Tammy Green. (The original authors are unknown, alas.) They have
nothing to do with computers, but what the heck: If You Can Read This,
I've Lost My Trailer. Click to
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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 © 2000 Langa Consulting LLC. All rights reserved.2)
Windows 2000 Readiness Tool Back Online
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Load The Code!
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Recovering From GoHip's "Free Videos From Hell"
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More Good Glossaries
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Win A Free Palm III Organizer!
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"Snarg" Site A Hit--- And A "WhoIs" Surprise!
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Windows Trouble?
http://www.langa.com/sendit2.htm
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Just For Grins
The Earth Is Full -- Go Home
I Have The Body Of A God (Buddha)
This Would Be Really Funny If It Weren't Happening to Me
Cleverly Disguised as a Responsible Adult
The Face Is Familiar But I Can't Quite Remember My Name
Eat Right, Exercise, Die Anyway
Illiterate? Write For Help
Honk If Anything Falls Off
He Who Hesitates Is Not Only Lost But Miles From the Next Exit
Where Are We Going and Why Am I In This Handbasket?
It's Been Lovely But I Have To Scream Now
I Haven't Lost My Mind, It's Backed Up On Disk Somewhere
Remember Folks: Stop Lights Timed For 35mph Are Also Timed for 70mph.
Boldly Going Nowhere
Heart Attacks... God's Revenge for Eating His Animal Friends
How Many Roads Must a Man Travel Down Before He Admits He Is Lost?
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Fred
(fred@langa.com)
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