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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2001-03-15

A Free Email Newsletter from Fred Langa
That Helps You Get More From Your Hardware, 
Software, and Time Online

Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!

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1) Hot Chips, Cool Replies

The current "Explorer" column at WinMag.Com ( http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2001/06.htm ) discusses how heat is the enemy of electronic devices--- including the CPU chip inside your PC. That article also shows you where to get software that can monitor the temperatures inside your PC, or even help to cool your CPU through a special software instruction that prevents "rapid idling" when your CPU briefly is between tasks.

Reader Paul Hampton shows why this matters:

Fred: As an electronic reliability engineer I can even quantify the discussion of CPU temp. A commonly accepted approximation of failure rate in electronic circuitry is that For every 10C (about 18F) you can reduce the temperature a device operates at, the life will approximately double.

So, if a CPU is running at 80C (176F) and a fan or other cooling device can get that temperature down to, say 60C (140F) the device will last about FOUR times as long as the uncooled CPU.

Thanks, Paul. Indeed, making sure your PC is adequately cooled isn't some arcane "angels on the head of a pin" topic: It pays off in better operation and longer system life.

And heat problems can crop up unexpectedly, as reader Joe Davis discovered:

Hi Fred: I've been using Mother Board Monitor ( http://mbm.livewiredev.com/ ) for a while now and it's saved my butt twice recently....  My Seagate tape drive failed (for the second time in two years) and when I removed it and restarted my system the temp climbed very quickly.... The empty drive bay was the cause. The air flow was bypassing the mother board altogether, so I put some packing tape over the open bay and in less than a minute the temp dropped 5°. So the lesson is, don't have open drive bays or card slots in your computer cover.

Today, I noticed the temp climb again and thought my cpu fan must have stopped so i pulled the case off and a rubber band that had been  wrapped around a ribbon cable had broken and gotten stuck in the cpu fan! 

Without monitoring software, Joe might not have known about either problem. His first trouble--- poor airflow--- would have shortened his system's life. The second problem--- a stopped fan--- might have led to erratic operation or even a destroyed CPU!

Heat matters. Check out what you can do about it--- for free!--- at http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2001/06.htm .

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2) Yes, WinME Does Work For Many

I've made some, er, unflattering remarks about WinME lately, and each time I've gotten emails from people for whom WinME runs fine. And that's great: Whenever you find a tool that does the job you want in the way you want, grab it and stick with it, no matter what anyone else says. (Including me!)

But I believe that many times, WinME gets credit for things it shouldn't. For example, some readers write and say something to the effect of: "I was having all kinds of trouble with Win9x, but when I installed a new copy of WinME, the problems stopped and the system runs better than ever." 

The trouble with this before/after analysis is that a fresh reinstall of Win98 might have accomplished the same thing. Maybe WinME helped, or maybe it was just that a fresh install of an OS. There's no way to tell.

Other readers replaced older, slower systems with new ME-equipped systems and write how happy they are with ME. But some of the positive vibes may come from speed of the new system rather than from ME. Plus, any sense of increased stability might be simply because ME is a brand-new new installation that's being compared to what was probably a much-used, cluttered older Win9x installation.

The only way to know what you can and cannot attribute to any OS is to set it up and run it in the same way on the same hardware as was used for the comparison OS: In other words, the only variable can be the OS itself. 

That's how I did my tests: I compared a new, virgin installation of Windows ME to a new virgin installation of Win98SE on exactly the same hardware, with as many settings as possible done exactly the same way. When I looked at ME in that carefully controlled way, it came up short.

But that still may not jibe with your experience, and that's OK: If WinME works for you, great!

On the other hand, I can't ignore the direct, controlled tests I did, either, and that's why I still believe that WinME is not the right choice for most people. 

You can get a ton of additional detail from the articles "Windows ME Long-Term Wrap-Up"  ( http://content.techweb.com/winmag//windows/winme/longterm/default.htm ) and "Ten Ways to Make Windows ME Run Better" ( and http://content.techweb.com/winmag//windows/features/merunbetter/default.htm ). But, as always, the choice is yours, and only you can determine what's best for your particular situation.

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3) Rosetta Stone, Improved

In "A Rosetta Stone" ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-03-08.htm#6 ) we discussed a way to obtain all the keywords to the complex Microsoft KnowledgeBase: Knowing the keyword system lets you avoid off-target searches and zero in on just what you want.

But Reader Adam Kautz had another idea that makes use of my current-favorite search engine, Google. (See http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-01-04.htm#2 )

Greetings Fred. The link to the Microsoft (MS) Keyword archive was good, but I believe I have found an even better way to search the MS KB. Go to http://www.google.com/advanced_search . Type search words in plain English in the "all of the words" box and then:

1) Select "100 results" from the drop down menu (unless of course you prefer to see less results at a time).
2) Select to return pages with results written in English.
3)  Input to only return results from the site or domain "microsoft.com".
4) Click on "Google Search."

I just recently read this suggestion on one of the Microsoft newsgroups and from the little bit I've tried it, I think it works superbly in comparison to the KB's search engine.

Thanks, Adam: The power of Google with the depth of the KnowledgeBase--- awesome!

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4) ZoneAlarm Pro Updated

Long-time readers know I'm a major fan of ZoneAlarm, the personal firewall from ZoneLabs. (See http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=zonealarm&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000 )

ZoneAlarm actually comes in two flavors--- standard (free for personal use) and "Pro." The Pro version costs $40 but is more powerful and configurable than the standard version, and can even coexist on a PC that's sharing its internet connection with other PCs.

The Pro version was just updated. If you have a copy of ZoneAlarm Pro, you can grab the free update at http://www.zonelabs.com/products/zap/zap_update.html  The update--- actually a patch, and not a complete copy of the software--- installs itself onto your existing full copy of ZoneAlarm Pro. (The patch won't do anything if you don't already have ZA Pro running.)

If you don't have a copy ZA Pro, you can buy and download it directly from ZoneAlarm.com, or via this link, which also helps to support this free newsletter: http://www.langa.com/sponsors/zonealarm.htm .

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5) More On That " 1,000 GB CD"

In "A CD That Holds 1,000 Gigabytes?" ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-03-01.htm#7 ) I told you about an emerging technology that will allow a normal-seeming CD to have up to about 100 thin optical "platters" embedded inside it, allowing the CD to hold over a terabyte of information!

A fellow Byte columnist, Andy Patrizio, wrote to send a URL to an article he'd done on the company and their technology, in some depth, a while back. Andy's article is at http://www.byte.com/feature/BYT20000218S0003 , and is a good source of additional info, if you're interested in cutting-edge storage technology.

Thanks, Andy!

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6) $10,000 For Your Trouble?

If you think the LangaList is a worthwhile read, just use the following link to recommend the LangaList to a friend. You just may win $10,000(!), your friend just may find a new source of useful information; I just may gain a new subscriber (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... (Full details available via this link): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#2 

Either way, thank you, and good luck!

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7) Warning! More ISPs Follow Juno's Lead!

Remember Juno's plan to consume all the spare CPU cycles in their subscriber's PCs? (See "Peer-To-Peer's Dark Side" at http://www.byte.com/column/BYT20010222S0004 )

In that article, I said "I believe that Juno may prove to be only the first of many such backdoor attempts to cobble together P2P networks that do little or nothing to benefit the people lassoed -- perhaps unwittingly -- into the network, but that offer enormous benefit to the companies setting up the stealth P2P networks."

Well, it's already starting. LangaList reader Clarence Lowe found that out when he paid close attention to his ISP's signup page:

After reading your article on Juno's latest attempt to invade the privacy of (and not to mention lying to) of their subscribers, I guess I was on the lookout for similar "terms of service" in other isp's. Check out this one under "How it works". http://www.highstream.net/ 

That section states:

While online, your computer's idle capacity performs computational tasks received from our server. It's that simple. As part of the set up process, our software application is loaded on your pc. It runs in the background and does not interrupt or degrade your internet access experience in any way.

So, it seems that other ISP's are indeed doing the Juno thing and taking over their subscriber's PCs.

It probably only will get worse. It'd be wise for *everyone* to start reading the full license terms of all software, including ISP installation software, from now on.

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8) They Just Keep Coming And Coming and Coming...

Well over a thousand 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  )

Speaking of which: Here's another eclectic sample of reader sites--- some professional, some very personal:

View A Randomly-Chosen Reader Site
http://www.langa.com/cgi-local/rand_link.pl

Manually Browse All Posted-to-Date Sites Starting At
http://www.langa.com/readersites.htm 

Web Page building, information and tips
http://www.siteliberation.com/

A Page from Ankara Turkiye (Turkey)
http://www.geocities.com/as_arpaci/

Tollhouse, California
http://www.foothillplaza.net/

Aeroport Hobby Shop
http://www.rcwizard.com/airporthobby/links.htm

RICK CLARK'S WORLD
http://home.earthlink.net/~clark524/index.html

A.L.M. Network Services, Inc. (Florida)
http://www.almnet.com/

Ed Highes Football League
http://www.hughesleague.com/

Cool Cell Phone Stuff
http://www.coolcellphonestuff.com/

Ed's Sports Pages
http://home.wi.rr.com/edmat/

Art-Oriented Web Rings
http://www.geocities.com/veronicakatheryne/Page_15_links.html 

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in the LangaList!

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9) A Free Window-Positioner

In "A Window-Positioner, And More" ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-02-15.htm ) we talked about Zmover, a $10 shareware "program to position windows automatically and keep them there (for example, IE5 puts new windows in different places, which is very annoying)."

Reader Isaac Good found a simpler tool that does one thing--- open all windows maximized--- but does it for free:

 I use AutoSizer, which is freeware instead of shareware. It doesn't have as many options as Zmover, but it's also a rather miniscule download (148KB) and works great for the IE5 problem mentioned. It can be found here along with several other great utilities http://www.firase.com/ 

Thanks, Isaac!

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10) Just For Grins

When you have your own web site, one of the thing you usually can do is replace standard web error messages with customized versions. That way, instead of getting (say) a generic "404 Error" message, site visitors might get something more descriptive--- or even amusing:

Reader Jason Race didn't provide the URL, but swears this is an actual (and highly customized!) " 404 error" message he saw:

The requested document is totally fake. No /404 here. Even tried multi. Nothing helped.

I'm really depressed about this. You see, I'm just a web server... -- here I am, brain the size of the universe, trying to serve you a simple web page, and then it doesn't even exist! Where does that leave me?!

I mean, I don't even know you. How should I know what you wanted from me? You honestly think I can *guess* what someone I don't even *know* wants to find here? *sigh*

Man, I'm so depressed I could just cry. And then where would we be, I ask you? It's not pretty when a web server cries. And where do you get off telling me what to show anyway? Just because I'm a web server, and possibly a manic depressive one at that? Why does that give you the right to tell me what to do? Huh? I'm so depressed...

I think I'll crawl off into the trash can and decompose. I mean, I'm gonna be obsolete in what, two weeks anyway? What kind of a life is that? Two effing weeks, and then I'll be replaced by a .01 release, that thinks it's God's gift to web servers, just because it doesn't have some tiddly little security hole with its HTTP POST implementation, or something.

I'm really sorry to burden you with all this, I mean, it's not your job to listen to my problems, and I guess it is my job to go and fetch web pages for you. But I couldn't get this one. I'm so sorry. Believe me!

Maybe I could interest you in another page? There are a lot out there that are pretty neat, they say, although none of them were put on *my* server, of course. Figures, huh? Everything here is just mind-numbingly stupid. That makes me depressed too, since I have to serve them, all day and all night long.

Two weeks of information overload, and then *pffftt*, consigned to the trash. What kind of a life is that? Now, please let me sulk alone. I'm so depressed.

Wow!

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11) Plus! Edition Highlights

Today's LangaList Plus! Edition contains all ten items above, plus about 30% more content including: six reader-recommended freeware downloads; a way to grab your own *local copy* of something like 100,000 items from the Microsoft KnowledgeBase; and more information on a free and excellent cache management tool.

Plus! Edition info: http://www.langa.com/plus.htm 

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See you next issue!

Best,

Fred
(fred@langa.com)

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.

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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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