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LangaList 2001-02-26 Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 1) Cool ToolsIt all started a few issues back with "R.I.P. SysEdit" ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-02-08.htm#8 ), a discussion of SysEdit--- a kind of super-notepad that uses a "multiple document interface" to open five important Windows 9x system files at once for easy, side-by-side scrutiny and editing. With a click, SysEdit lets you access and edit your Autoexc.bat, Config.Sys, Win.Ini, System.Ini, and Protocol.Ini files. It's a favorite of Windows power users everywhere. You can see if SysEdit is available on your machine by typing SysEdit as a Run command on your Start menu. (SysEdit is included in normal Win9x installations; and a modified SysEdit is part of Win2K SR-1 and later. Alas, SysEdit is not in clean installs of WinME, although it may be present on WinME systems that were upgraded from Win9x.) But even though SysEdit is installed on hundreds of millions of machines, many users don't even know they have this handy tool! After that initial discussion of SysEdit, many, many of you sent in suggestions for discussions about other little-known system tools; or offered alternative tools in cases where a specific tool or version might not be available. For example, if you like the idea of SysEdit, but your copy of Windows doesn't have it, what alternatives can you use? When the flood of email died down, I had a huge pile of excellent suggestions. (Thanks to all who wrote in!) So many, in fact, they'd fill this entire issue by themselves. Rather than devote an entire newsletter to one topic, I turned the list of cool system tools into an "Explorer" column, and it's now due to go live on the WinMag site today, midday (2001-02-26; UT-5). As always, that column is free: Just click on over to http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/ . (If you arrive early, you'll see the previous column on "Email Clients." In that case, just try again a little later.) If you want to try a direct link, once the column is posted, it should be at http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2001/05.htm . (If you arrive early, the link won't work.) Please click on over and check out your fellow readers' Cool Tool recommendations! Click to
email this item to a friend 2) WinME's Mixed BagIn several recent issues, I've kvetched about Windows Millennium Edition--- the last, largest, and sometimes-slowest member of the Win9x family. But each time I've mentioned some problem in WinME, I get emails like this:
Of course, Walter has his tongue in his cheek: No, there's nothing wrong with what he's doing. WinME *can* run acceptably. It just often does not. For example:
There are lots more debatable choices in ME, too, but the good news is that--- as Walter's email suggests--- many can be overcome. As I mentioned in an earlier issue, I poked around in the guts of ME and found ways to make it run about 10% faster than the factory configuration. I gathered all I learned into a full-length feature article that will be appearing on the WinMag site any day now. But I mention this now before that article is available, because WinME is basically a modified version of Win98, and the folks at WinMag have just posted an update of an article called "Ten Ways To Make Windows 98 Run Better." All the information in that article applies to Win98--- but because of the internal overlap between Win98 and WinME, a lot of it also is directly applicable to WinME, too! "Ten Ways To Make Windows 98 Run Better" is available right now at: http://content.techweb.com/winmag//windows/features/98runbetter/default.htm Whether you're trying to get more from WinME, or you're just tuning and tweaking a copy of Win98, check it out! Click to
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 3) Two Security AlertsIf you use Microsoft's Media Player 7, you should know about the "Media Player Skins File Download Vulnerability."
More info and a downloadable
patch: If you use Outlook Express, then you need to be aware of the "Outlook Express Vcard Unchecked Buffer" problem.
More information and a
downloadable patch: Click to
email this item to a friend 4) P2P's Dark SideSeveral issues ago ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-02-08.htm#1 ), we discussed how Juno--- the giant ISP with 14 million subscribers--- is mandating that its users join a stealthy P2P ("peer to peer") network: Juno will quietly connect its subscribers' computers as an ad-hoc distributed computing network. Then, someone with a large computational problem can contract with Juno, which will divvy up the large problem into smaller chunks and feed it into its subscribers' PCs which will execute this external code and send the results of the computations back to Juno. The process then repeats. On the surface, it's a fairly standard implementation of P2P technology. But the tech's not the problem: It's the implementation. In effect, Juno says that you must give them the right to use your PC for whatever purposes they choose, when they choose. You have no rights to what they do with or on your PC. You can't even try to find out what Juno's doing. You must perform these forced services at your own risk and expense: You must keep your PC on at all times in order to run Juno's calculations; if you don't leave your PC on--- say you want to perform system maintenance or just save some energy--- Juno can cancel your account. You pay for the call (if needed) to send in the results; and if Juno's software crashes your PC and eats your data, well, tough luck. And worst of all, the whole scheme is being done quietly, in a way most Juno users may not even be aware of. That's about where we left it when last we touched upon this topic. But the more I thought about it, the more it bugged me. When I did some additional digging, I came to the alarming conclusion that Juno is probably just the first of many companies that will try to grab a little (or not so little) piece of your system. Soon--- very soon--- you may be at risk every time you download any software, music or videos; install any drivers or upgrade any programs; or even just connect to any ISP in the future. Think I'm kidding? Click on over to the "Monitor" at Byte.Com: My new column there (scheduled to go live today, Feb 26) goes over the ideas behind P2P networking, the first big P2P successes (such as SETI@Home), the first major P2P problems (such as the Napster mess), and how Juno fits in as a possible harbinger of a dark future. The column should be available via Byte's home page at http://www.byte.com/ or by clicking directly to the Monitor index at http://www.byte.com/index/monitor . Please check it out, and then follow the links at the end of the article to post your thoughts. Is Juno's power-grab a case of one, or--- as I believe--- is this something we'll see a lot more of in the future? Click to
email this item to a friend 5) CD vs DVD For BackupsReader Luis G. Uribe wondered about future backup media when he read that "...I burn a CD that contains the system image PLUS the ...Drive Image DOS floppies... the CD is a 100% self-contained ...includes the restoration app and the backup data all in one place.... It ensures that my backup images always have the correct restore program and version right with them so that if I need to restore a file even years from now, I'll automatically have the correct tool at hand."
It's a good question--- I too have some dusty boxes of 5.25" floppies in a closet, but only one old system here still sports a 5.25" drive with which to read 'em. When that system dies, those old floppies will become inaccessible to me unless I've copied the information off them beforehand onto a format with a longer future. That is, if the data is still readable in the first place, because floppies (and tapes) actually have fairly short shelf lives even if there is hardware available to read them. Fortunately, it's less of an issue with CDs. The format is so ubiquitous it will be a very long time indeed before there'll be no hardware that can read them. CDs themselves are durable, with average lifetimes expected to be in the 20-year range with no special treatment or handling. And the DVD format is backwards-compatible so that DVD drives can read standard CDs now, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Eventually, CDs will become obsolete (all technologies do), but it should be a comfortably long time from now. Click
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 6) Reminder: The Safe Way To Delete ANY FileThis is one of those perennial topics: It comes up in various guises and at various times, but there's a single answer that serves for almost all the permutations. Here's a current example:
Duplicate files, huge space-hogging files, mystery files--- there's one simple way to see if ANY kind of file is OK to delete: Rename whatever file you're wondering about with an obvious name you can find later. For example, if you were wondering about a file named filename.exe, you could rename it something like filename.exedeleteme. Then reboot and use your system normally. If after a while nothing breaks and you get no error messages about a missing file, you can assume you didn't need the file(s) you renamed. You can then do a search for all files names "*.*deleteme" and erase them. If it turns out you do need 'em, just rename 'em back to what they were before removing the "deleteme" you embedded in their name: Reboot, and you're back where you were Of course, this is made even simpler if you have full, current backups: You can whack files with the certain confidence that if it turns out you need something you've erased, you can just grab the file off a backup. But even without backups, the "interim rename" method usually does the trick and lets you identify files you really need, versus those that are just needless baggage. Click to
email this item to a friend 7) No More Free LangaLists?If you value the free LangaList Standard Edition at all, I urge you to consider the following: I pay to publish this newsletter with my own personal Visa card. I am a self-employed freelance writer; I have no giant corporation backing me, no deep corporate coffers to draw on. It's just me here. Now take a guess at what percentage of readers click on the ad links to help defray my costs in bringing you this newsletter. OK, got your answer in mind? It usually averages under 5%. Surprised? Believe it or not, that's fairly typical for newsletters, and is even a little high for some. Those ads are the ONLY thing that keeps this free version of the newsletter paying its way; so if you're one of the less than 5% who click on the ads: Thank you. Let me tell you, with 160,000 readers, it's expensive to publish this newsletter. And with only 5% of readers helping to pay the bills--- and 95% of readers taking the services and giving nothing back--- I have to wonder if the expense and hassle is worth doing. My finances certainly would be a *lot* simpler if I just stopped giving away the Standard Edition. I try to do my part by bringing you free, spam-proof information twice a week. All I ask in return is that you click on an ad link or two in every issue. Your clicks defray the costs of bringing you each issue--- and just might introduce you to some interesting and useful products, too. Bottom line: If you want the free LangaList Standard Edition to continue, then click on an ad or two per issue, and at least see what the advertiser is offering. (You don't have to buy anything.) As we said in a previous issue in another context: There ain't no such thing as a free lunch--- or a free newsletter. It costs money to publish the LangaList, and your help--- just a click or two per issue--- will keep the gears turning. Thanks! Click to
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 8) More Search Engine FeedbackIn "Time To Upgrade Your Search Engine" ( http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2001/01.htm ) we discussed many of today's best search engines--- and also offered tips on using them. But, months later, people are *still* writing in with more information, as evidenced by this detailed, information-rich note from a LangaList reader:
Thanks, Gary! Click to
email this item to a friend 9) Just For GrinsJim Talbert sends along these "TOP 35 OXYMORONS:"
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- See you next issue! Best, Please recommend the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win $10,000!I) An easier-to read formatted HTML version is available in the "Current Issue" section of http://www.langa.com. (The HTML version of each issue normally is available by 9AM EST [UT-5] of the issue date.) All past LangaList issues are also available at the Langa.Com site. Why are you getting this newsletter? This is a 100% OPT-IN newsletter: There are only three ways to get on the list--- signup via direct email request from you, or signup via the WinMag newsletter page or signup via BrowserTune's email-notification service. If you're getting this newsletter; your name came to me through one of those signup channels. At signup, you also received a confirmation email from my list software---no one is signed up secretly or against their will. SUBSCRIBE (it's free!): Create and send a new email address it to subscribe-langalist@lyris.dundee.net For even more content, downloads and special services, check out the LangaList Plus! Edition: http://www.langa.com/plus.htm UNSUBSCRIBE: From the same address you used to sign up with (it's shown on the first line in the body of each email issue you receive), create and send a new email address to unsubscribe-langalist@lyris.dundee.net . CHANGE ADDRESS? LIST TROUBLE? HAVE QUESTIONS? NEED HELP? See http://www.langa.com/help.htm 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: (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 service of Langa Consulting LLC and is Copyright © 1997-2005Langa Consulting LLC. All rights reserved. LangaList: ISSN 1533-1156 |
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