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the above is an advertisement )-------------- 1) WinME WoesThe "10 Ways To Make WinME Run Better" article ( http://content.techweb.com/winmag//windows/features/merunbetter/02.htm ) is generating a lot of email and comments. Although a number of readers found the first 9 tips enough to make their copies of Millennium Edition run the way it should, some readers are frustrated enough to go all the way to Tip #10---the most drastic option--- which is to revert to Win98SE. But even there, WinME can get in the way. For example, reader Jack Devlin writes:
For systems that were "upgraded" (ha!) to WinME from Win98, and depending on how the upgrade was done, it may be possible to go back via the OS's own uninstall, or via the manual method described here: http://content.techweb.com/winmag//library/1997/0301/analy026.htm But for PCs that were originally formatted by ME, a fresh "Format C:" from a non-ME boot disk is the ONLY reliable way either to go to Win98 or to Win2K. That's because the WinME format command is a weird mutation that only works properly for WinME itself. Other OSes may choke if you try to install them on a WinME-formatted disk! But with luck, one of the nine less-radical steps will be enough to resolve most WinME issues: If you're having trouble with Millennium Edition, check out all ten of the tips at http://content.techweb.com/winmag//library/1997/0301/analy026.htm ! Click to
email this item to a friend 2) What About Windows 2000/XP?Although more and more people are switching to Windows 2000, the majority of readers of this newsletter still use Win9x and--- as you can see from the amount of time we spend discussing ways to improve it--- it's an OS that needs a lot of help. <g> That applies to both the "pure" Win98 versions and the modified version called Windows Millennium Edition (WinME--- see item #1 above). But what about Windows 2000? And what about the new "XP" versions of Windows that will be out later this year and that will be based on Windows 2000? Of course, by now I'm sure you've heard that Windows 2000 is more stable than Win9x/ME--- and it is. But what's not often discussed is the reason why: Win2K doesn't try to do as much as Win9X does. It supports a smaller base of hardware and software, and is more focused on doing a smaller number of clearly-defined things very well rather than trying to do it all, as Win9x does. For example, a brand-new 2001 copy of Win98SE can use some of the same hardware and software that ran on the first PCs almost 20 years ago. While that versatility is useful, it comes at the price of complexity. All the "backwards compatible" elements of the operating system are baggage that makes the Win98 OS bigger and more past-rooted than it would be otherwise; you can't be fully innovative if you're also trying to support stuff that's two decades old. WinNT and Win2K are different. NT was intended to be a clean start; a breaking away from the DOS world. Win2K--- NT's successor--- pushed the break further, shedding support for many "legacy" issues in both hardware and software. While Win2K supports a large and respectable number of products, it's a much smaller number than what Win9X supports. The duality is this: Win2k is a "cleaner," more modern, more stable OS; but it's far more restrictive in its hardware and software support. I ran into this most recently just last week, when I was upgrading a system here to Win2K. My primary target system wasn't some old dog PC: It was a Dell 500Mhz Pentium III with 128MB of RAM, a 20GB hard drive, and name-brand video, audio and CD. The system is a little over a year old---not an antique--- and it ran perfectly under Win98SE. In fact, until about a month ago, it had been my #1 daily-use system. But before I could get Win2K to run properly on that system, I had to buy a new CD ROM, buy a new sound card, buy a new network card, and totally reconfigure my LAN, including the networking on all the non-Win2K systems on the LAN. I also had to toss some utilities and apps I routinely use. It was, in short, a major pain. (And I'm *still* having networking trouble.) All the stuff I had to replace was name-brand gear, OEM-installed by a major manufacturer on a fairly recent system: Nothing was very old, and it all had been working perfectly under Win98. But Win2K simply didn't support it. I knew I'd have these problems going in because I'd checked the Compatibility Lists at Microsoft.Com: Nothing--- except the network card, which was listed and should have worked--- came as a surprise. But the lack of surprise didn't make the experience any more pleasant. I hate to discard perfectly good stuff just for the sake of an upgrade. And I know I'm not alone:
I mention all this now for two reasons: First, Win2K is not a panacea. (No operating system is.) If you're willing to bite the bullet when you upgrade, and maybe flush some otherwise perfectly-good gear, you can end up with a very nice setup. Second--- and in many ways, this is more important--- the new version of Windows called "Windows XP" that will be out later this year will be based on the guts of Windows 2000. (See http://content.techweb.com/winmag//windows/win2002/beta1/default.htm )With the release of Windows XP, the Windows 9x/ME line will come to an end and merge with the Windows 2000 family. In effect, starting later this year, all new versions of Windows will be Win2K-based. If you're already using Win2K, the upgrade to XP should be simple. But if you're using Win9x/ME, you may run into problems with some of your current hardware and software, even if it's fairly new and working perfectly. Because Windows XP isn't out yet, there's no definitive compatibility list, but for now, you can check the Windows 2000 compatibility lists to at least get an idea of what you're in for: http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/upgrade/compat/default.asp A few minutes in the compatibility list now might save you some real headaches later on! Click to
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the above is an advertisement )-------------- 3) Xteq Systems' X-Setup 6.0 Public Beta 1We've discussed Xteq's utility in the past ( http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=xteq&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000 ). With only a little hyperbole, it's described as "the ultimate mother of all Windows tweaking utilities for Windows 95/98/NT/2000/Millennium." It *is* good, and lets you tweak things you may never have known were tweakable. In fact, if it has a major weakness it's that it's so comprehensive and feature-rich that it can be hard to figure out at first. Now, there's a new version:
Definitely worth a look! Click to
email this item to a friend 4) "SpamEx"There's a new mail-forwarding service just getting started: It's intended to help you dodge spam, and it's called SpamEx:
Mail-forwarding services can cause their own problems, of course: If the company has trouble or goes bust, you can lose *all* the email subscriptions that you tied to the service. And there are privacy considerations because you have to give the mail-forwarder your *real* address. But they can be useful. You can find a ton of similar services with a search of "mail forward service," but if SpamEx itself sounds interesting to you, you can check it out at: http://www.spamex.com/ Click to
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the above is an advertisement )-------------- 5) Is This Information Useful?If you think the LangaList is a worthwhile read, maybe a friend would find it useful too! Just use the following link to recommend the LangaList---your friend may find a new source of useful information and you just may win $10,000 for your trouble (full details also available via this link):
http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#1 Either way, thank you, and good luck! Click to
email this item to a friend 6) A Rosetta Stone!Here's the good part: The Microsoft Knowledgebase is a vast, free online library of searchable information on all of Microsoft products. It began life many years ago as the tool that Microsoft's own support technicians used to help resolve user problems: Once a fix was found for a problem, it was entered into the Knowledgebase so others facing the same problem could easily find and access the solution. Here's the bad part: Over time, the Knowledgebase has gotten so large that it can be very hard to find what you want. You might *know* the answer's in there, but it can be hard to unlock the power of the Knowledgebase. But reader Mike Champion sends along this link, which is a veritable Rosetta Stone for the entire Knowledgebase:
What a great find. Thanks, Mike! Click to
email this item to a friend 7) More Reader Sites!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!" (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
) View A Randomly-Chosen Reader Site From Among All Listed Manually Browse All Posted-to-Date Sites Starting At BROADBAND RESOURCES ON THE
INTERNET Joe Bananas (Perth,
Scotland) Three calculators featuring
unlimited precision TRAIN STATION GIFT SHOP Sunday Funnies Aromatherapy The House of Linens,
Bermuda Always Welcome To Vern's
Cyber-Home TRANCE GENERATION X Click to
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the above is an advertisement )-------------- 8) Saving Auto-Download Files LocallyThis question crops up again and again, so it's worth a quick refresher:
Go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/ and start a standard download. A small loader app will download and run; this is the front end to the full download. When that front-end runs and offers you an installation choice (and it will--- be patient), select "custom." Then check off which components you wish to download and where you want them stored on your hard drive. When you click OK, instead of downloading and installing, the components you selected will be placed on your hard drive in the place you specified. You then can install them multiple times, whenever you need to, using the files on your hard drive rather than re-downloading them. Similarly, you can go to the "Corporate Update" site at http://corporate.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp and selectively download and store many of the patches and updates that you otherwise get as auto-downloads via Windows Update. If you have a slow connectrion and/or do a lot of reinstalls, having a local copy of these files can be a real timesaver. Click to
email this item to a friend 9) Just For GrinsThere's a hoax mail going around about--- of all things--- the Bulwer-Lytton contest, whose (real) motto is "Where 'WWW' means 'Wretched Writers Welcome.'" The official site ( http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/ ) explains that the contest is "... a whimsical literary competition that challenges entrants to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels." It's named after Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, who penned this overwrought, rambling and infamous opening to a novel in 1830:
Whew. The contest usually produces some hilariously (and deliberately) bad writing and is always worth a grin. But for some reason, this year someone pulled off a lame and baffling hoax that involved circulating a list of contest winners that included an old runner up as the supposed winner this year. (I have no clue why someone would go to the trouble of concocting so minor a hoax.) But the list *is* funny, even if it's not fully accurate:
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the above is an advertisement )-------------- 10) Plus! Edition HighlightsToday's LangaList Plus! Edition contains all the above, plus information on an in-depth and free resource containing a small library's worth of information on online security issues; an excellent freeware utility that synchronizes your PC's clock with any of dozens of time-reporting sites; and an easy registry tweak that can significantly speed your downloads. Plus! Edition info: http://www.langa.com/plus.htm Click to
email this item to a friend See you next issue!
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