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the above is an advertisement )-------------- 1) More on "Whistler"Of the Windows OS family, Win2K has the most stable internal architecture, and Windows98SE is the most-compatible. Imagine if you could combine those strengths into one new OS. That's the idea behind Whistler, the code-named new version of Windows that may appear later this year. Windows ME really isn't part of this picture; it's an abortive hybrid that actually manages to combine the *worst* of Win98 (lingering instabilities) and Win2K (piggishness). I've been using WinME a lot lately, and the more I use it, the less I like it. Although it has a couple nice features, they're add-ons: At it's heart, it's clearly a stopgap OS, and a pretty unimpressive one at that. But Whistler--- which may be called "Windows.Net 1.0" when it ships--- just may get it right, and is potentially the most significant OS advance from Microsoft since Win95. We'll see. In the last issue ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-01-08.htm#2 ) we discussed a pile of excellent sites where you can start to get up to speed on Whistler. But reader John Byers found another: Fred, relative to your comments on MS "Whistler", I thought you might want to check out this site: http://www.winsupersite.com/ It's "Paul Thurrott's Windows supersite - up-to-date information on the workings of Microsoft's next operating systems and office programs." Nice addition, John. Thanks! Click to
email this item to a friend 2) Avoid The Reformat/Reinstall Two-StepReader Ed Newbold ran into a problem that's fairly common. Well--- at least the *result* is common: A hosed OS. Ed's specific problem may or may not parallel one you've had or will have, but sooner or later, everyone is at the point of knowing their OS is toast, and wondering if there's an alternative to a full reformat/reinstall:
One often-overlooked option is an "in-place reinstall" where you just layer a new copy of the OS over the copy that's gone bad. With some kinds of problems--- missing or overwritten system, files, for example--- this kind of reinstall may completely cure what's wrong, and can do so without losing your data, your installed apps, or any customizations or alterations you've made. Instead, the new copy of the OS picks up your existing installations, alterations and such, and leaves them alone. With a little luck, the only thing the reinstall alters is the broken portion of the old OS install. The problem with the in-place reinstall is that it's not as thorough-going as a clean install, and can also pick up bad settings, and may not correctly replace subtly corrupted files. An in-place reinstall isn't a panacea, but it may be worth a shot if you're out of other options: It's easy: Just insert your OS setup CD, navigate to the root directory on the CD, and launch the Setup file. The OS should reinstall right on top of the existing OS. The broken or missing parts should be restored, and your settings *should* remain intact. If that doesn't work, there's still another option short of a full reformat, and it's spelled out at http://content.techweb.com/winmag//library/1998/1001/fea0045i.htm#won't_work . It's basically a way to completely delete Windows from your system, leaving no trace, but leaving all your data intact. Although this "no-reformat reinstall" does require that you re-install all your applications, it's still faster than a full-reformat reinstall because all your data stays put. You know what's coming next: With good backups or drive images, you can skip all the above and get your system back to a known-good state with far less time and hassle than any of the above options. But I know very, very few people bother with backups of any kind, so it's worth discussing various no-reformat reinstall options, even though they're a poor substitute. In any case, it's good to have options other than "format c:" <g> Click to
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the above is an advertisement )-------------- 3) Ever Get An Email Blast From The Past?Reader Roy Dane found a time capsule in his email:
The message in question was time-stamped some *nine months* earlier! Had the email really taken nine months to be delivered? Well, probably not. In this case, my guess is that someone had this mail composed but unsent until they found it at year's end. This can happen on mail systems that allow you to queue unsent messages until you manually release them. It also can be fairly common on laptops or other systems where email routinely is composed offline: When, much later, the laptop/system is finally back online, the mail is then sent. If the machine has been offline for a LONG time, you can get weirdness like the email in question. Sometimes, bad mail dates are also caused by someone setting the date wrong on their PC. This can be accidental, or (especially with spammers) deliberate: Many mail clients sort your inbox chronologically, so sending an email with a date that's deliberately set either far in the past or far in the future is one way to get the delivered mail to stand out either at the top or the bottom of the inbox, depending on how it's sorted. And finally, it *is* possible that the mail was sent normally, and with a correct date, but that a problem with a mail server somewhere caused the message to be held for nine months, until someone noticed an unsent queue, probably as part of year-end cleanup. All of which goes to show that email may be less trustworthy and reliable than you thought. 8-) Click to
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Noticed The Repeat Advertisers In The LangaList? Give it a
try for your product, service, web site See http://www.langa.com/ratecard.htm <a
href="http://www.langa.com/ratecard.htm">AOL
Users: Click here!</a> 4) Coda: Time To Upgrade Your Search EngineThe column and discussion about better choices in search engines is now winding down ( http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2001/01.htm ). But it got--- and is still getting--- some great feedback. For example:
Reader "Steve" works at Lookoff, so you might expect bias, but Lookoff is very nicely-done. You'll find tons of tips, tricks, and targeted information that will let you find and use the search engine that's tight for any particular search you might be trying. Using Lookoff, you might be steered to one search engine this time, but a different, more-targeted engine for your next search. No more "one engine fits all" searching! Thanks, Steve. Click to
email this item to a friend 5) Watchdog Redux (FREE!)We first discussed "Watchdog" last May (see http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-05-11.htm#5 ): It's a simple, easy-to-use and free tool that helps protect you against malicious scripts (such as those you might find in email worms and trojans). Jason Levine--- the developer of Watchdog--- wrote to tell me of a new version:
Thanks, Jason! Click to
email this item to a friend 6) Thanks!Thanks to thousands of you, the LangaList site remains one of the ten most-recommended "Computing & Internet" web sites, according to the folks at Recommend-It! (See http://www.recommend-it.com/RecCenter/10.html .) It's a great feeling to know that this newsletter (and Langa.Com) is useful enough for many, many of you to have suggested it to friends and colleagues. And, as a way of saying "Thanks!" there are two prizes you can win simply for making a recommendation. For example, if you use the Recommend-It service, you can win $10,000 (full details also available via this link): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#1 Or, win a no-strings $30 Gift Certificate for any item at Amazon.Com--- books, software, hardware, kitchenware, toys... and more. 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 $30 Gift Certificate! (Full details also available via this link): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#2 Either way, thank you again, and good luck! Click to
email this item to a friend 7) Good Idea Or Bad?Reader "Chris" found a clear explanation of an easy way to block ads:
We've discussed that trick before, and it's worth mentioning again because (1) it's becoming more popular and (2) I think it's a very bad idea: The Hosts file is NOT meant to be used with dynamic addressing, such as that used on the Internet and the Web. Rather, it was originally designed for use in LANs where servers have fixed, unchanging addresses. Using a static Hosts file can invoke the "law of unintended consequences" and leave you unable to connect to sites you want to get to. I know: I get letters every week from people who suddenly can't get to one or more of their favorite sites, with no clue why. The answer is almost always in their Hosts file. Before you do anything with your Hosts file--- either manually, or via ad-blocking software, please see http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-04-03.htm#5 Click to
email this item to a friend 8) They Just Keep Coming And Coming and Coming...Hundreds and hundreds of your fellow
readers have "Loaded the code." Please click over to http://www.langa.com/code.htm
, and maybe you can join them! (If you've already "Loaded The Code"
and are wondering if your site will appear here or on the Langa.Com web site,
please see http://www.langa.com/link.txt
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the above is an advertisement )-------------- 9) Zone Alarm RespondsAfter last issue's item ZoneAlarm's "Flaws" http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-01-08.htm#3 , I got additional email; some from readers telling me how ZA failed them in one way or another. But as I said last time, "[B]ecause *no* software is perfect or flaw-free, you shouldn't rely on *any* one line of defense against hackers. Instead, if you ensure that your system is set up securely in the first place, and if you take reasonable care in your online activities, and if you use a good firewall, then these multiple lines of defense will interlock and make you virtually immune to hack attack...If you want full details on how to build a FREE and nearly impenetrable multi-layered defense for your system, check out the four-part series at http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2000/07.htm ." ZA works in most cases, most of the time. In fact, although there's a free version and I could have gotten away with using it indefinitely, I sprung for the for-a-fee version if for no other reason than to help ensure that ZA stays around and in business. ZA has been pretty aggressive about responding to the mostly-bogus reports of bugs and conceptual flaws in the product. In fact, some folks at ZA sent me a detailed letter explaining why they, too, feel these reports are false alarms and red herrings. Rather than burn space here in your mailbox, here's a link to a site that published a full discussion of the "mutex bug" (and thanks to reader Steven M Peterson for the link): http://snortworld.bla-bla.com/ubb/Forum6/HTML/000816.html Click to
email this item to a friend 10) Just For Grins"DecTek" sends along these "Signs of the times:"
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the above is an advertisement )-------------- See you next issue!
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