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the above is an advertisement )-------------- 1) Bad NewsOn Monday, CMP announced a major reshuffling of its web operations. Sadly, one immediate outcome of this is that WinMag.Com has ceased operations. The site is still up for now, but the future of the content is unclear. If there's anything you've been meaning to read on their site but haven't gotten around to, now would be a very good time. In particular, you can find all my columns--- Plugging Resource Leaks, DOS primers, networking--- everything--- at http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/backissu.htm . There's lots more elsewhere on the WinMag site too, so grab it while you can. BrowserTune and Hotspots were briefly offline, but are at least temporarily back at their usual locations: http://www.browsertune.com/bt2kfast/ and http://www.browsertune.com/flanga/hotspots.htm I have no idea what will happen to these sites, but will keep you apprised of any moves via this newsletter. And should CMP simply drop either or both, I'll produce new versions for you and host them on my own site. (Stay tuned.) Byte.Com will continue, but as part of a different division; the current Byte site is still alive, and you can access its content, including my current and previous columns at http://www.byte.com/index/monitor . In particular, if you're interested in catching Mir's fiery end (now rescheduled for Friday the 23rd), my column on Mir-watching resources is still available at http://www.byte.com/column/BYT20010313S0004 . A bunch of CMP staff--- many of them friends and acquaintances--- have lost their jobs; a small number have been given new assignments. I wish them *all* the best. If I may speak personally for a moment, my own freelancing future with CMP is also unclear. For now, we're treating it as if my contracts have expired, and we're done. Perhaps the "new" Byte or some other part of the operation there will pick up the now-expired contracts, but I don't know; nothing's happened yet. While the loss of those assignments isn't a life-or-death matter, it sure takes a huge bite out of our family finances.<g> That's certainly not *your* problem, but many readers are still under the misconception that this newsletter is part of some corporate empire: It's not, and how I make my overall living determines how much time and money I can invest in this free newsletter (free to you, that is--- it's certainly not free for me to produce). Not to put too fine a point on it, but if you've been meaning to sign up for the Plus! edition but haven't gotten around to, now would be a very good time. <g>Thanks! http://www.langa.com/plus.htm The good news is that next week has *got* to be better. Click to
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the above is an advertisement )-------------- 2) Easy Rescues For Your Outlook, Outlook Express DataAlthough I'd already planned to cover this topic in this issue, WinMag.Com's uncertain future makes it even more appropriate: In two related pieces, Dave Methvin details everything you need to know about preserving not only your Outlook and Outlook Express email, schedule and contact data but also all your "rules" and filters, account settings, passwords--- *everything.* If you use either version of Outlook, check out these articles while you still can: Outlook Express: Outlook: Click to
email this item to a friend 3) Road Runner, Verizon, @Home Email ProblemsSpeaking of email... many readers' email accounts have been broken lately, and some may not even realize it. You see, most people assume email is as reliable as paper mail (and postal jokes aside, paper mail is extremely reliable). But email is not particularly reliable. As a recipient, you can't know what email you *didn't* get because any bounce/error message goes back to the sender, not to you. And depending on what the error was and how it's handled, the sender may also never see the error message: Emails can be sent--- and just vanish into the void. For example, just in the last week or so, a large number of Texas "RoadRunner" cable modem subscribers failed to get all or some of their email due to server problems. There was a second, lesser group of "@Home" customers, mostly clustered in Florida, that had similar problems. And Verizon customers in a variety of locations also lost email for a while. And these were just the most recent large-scale email problems: Problems like these happen regularly, and there are even larger numbers of people who have spot outages from time to time. No mail system is immune. Even highly-reliable systems with 99.9% uptime, for example, still will experience about *9 hours* outage per year... more than a full business day's worth! One simple way to test your own email is to maintain a separate account on one of the free email services, and use that account to send your primary email address a message whenever you suspect that primary email may be having trouble. That way, you'll see if your main address is working, and also get an idea of how long it takes for mail to get through. On the sending side, you can use the "return receipt" option for important email: This is a feature (supported by all major email clients) that triggers an automatic reply message to you when your email is opened by the recipient. While this certainly isn't a failsafe measure (and can be overridden on the recipient side), it gives you at least a tiny bit of feedback about the delivery--- or nondelivery--- of important email. But the main thing is simply to be aware that email is not a highly reliable (nor secure) form of communication. It's a sad fact of online life that some small but nontrivial percentage of emails you send--- and that others send to you--- simply aren't going to arrive. The more email you send or receive, the more likely that "small percentage" is to become a meaningful factor in your online correspondence. Click to
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the above is an advertisement )-------------- 4) System File Checker ConflictsReader Steve Wootten writes:
We've actually covered what System File Checker (SFC) is and how to use it several times before. We've covered it in the newsletter at http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=sfc&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000 and also on the WinMag site at http://bbs.winmag.com/columns/archives/1998/092098/monday/body.asp?frames=no and http://bbs.winmag.com/columns/archives/1998/101898/monday/body.asp?frames=no The problem with SFC is that it relies on information embedded inside your system files to identify the file version, date, etc. While only the OS maker should be updating system components, in reality anyone can write a new DLL and give it whatever name, date and version number they want. It's usually done with good intentions by third-party software vendors, but the result is that there can be many variants of what appears to be the same file. It's hard to tell which is the right one to use.. Of the three primary file-identification attributes (besides name), dates are perhaps the least reliable. It's just too easy to alter the date on a DLL--- to give an old version a new date, for example. So file dates should be your last resort when judging which of two similar DLLs you should be using when you're faced with a conflict. File size also isn't a very good indicator. It wasn't always so: In times past, DLLs would naturally grow from version to version as new features were added. But newer, more efficient software-authoring tools can make very new DLLs smaller than their predecessors. Plus, sometimes large, unwieldy DLLs get deliberately broken into two smaller, newer ones. So, it's not a good idea to judge by size either. What's left? The version number. It's an imprecise indicator because third parties can alter the version number inappropriately, but it's still the best available indicator of which of two similar DLLs is really the newer one. But because even this is imprecise, you need to approach any SFC change with caution. Ideally, you should run SFC after installing any new software so you'll reduce the number of changes confronting you. (If you've never run SFC on an older installation of Windows in which you've added many updates or new programs, you can be faced with a huge, confusing and even intimidating array of SFC conflict reports.) And you should also at least back up any DLLs or other system files you're going to change (so you can put them back if the change isn't a good one). Or better still, make a full system backup before you do *any* major maintenance. And as a final guide: If it's not clear what's the correct system file to use, and if your apps are working fine, leave well enough alone: Don't make gratuitous system file changes. On the other hand, if you suspect a conflict, and you're getting error messages (such as "invalid page fault" in some particular DLL or other system file) then it's probably worth trying a different version. SFC is a powerful tool, but like all powerful tools, it requires great caution! Click to
email this item to a friend 5) More ISP Shenanigans? (This time: Earthlink)As if the CPU-cycle stealing---er, excuse me: "sharing"--- of some ISPs wasn't bad enough (see http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=juno&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000 ) now there are reports of a notional "super Cookie" used by Earthlink. I don't like the term "super Cookie" because Cookies are actually just tiny text files and are usually--- almost always--- utterly benign. In fact, I do nothing--- nothing at all--- to manage my Cookies. The risks are so small, and the benefits so real, I think Cookies are an actively Good Thing, and I don't mind them on my PC at all. But many people *hate* Cookies (usually because of a misunderstanding of what they can and can't do), and so, when Earthlink appeared to be using some way to persistently identify their users as they surf from site to site, some wags thought it might have been by means of some kind of "super Cookie." The good news is that it's not: It has nothing whatsoever to do with Cookies. The bad news: According to Internet security guru Steve Gibson, Earthlink DOES embed a unique identifier in its browser-identification string, at least theoretically allowing Earthlink users to be tracked. There's lots more here: http://grc.com/su/earthlink.htm In the headline, Steve calls this a "browser token," and that's as good a name as any. But he also calls it "effectively a super Cookie," which really isn't accurate and which only will needlessly fan the anti-Cookie flames. The Earthlink browser token is bad news for anyone who wants to preserve their privacy--- but it's NOT a Cookie. [FLASH: JUST HOURS AFTER THIS ITEM WAS WRITTEN, GIBSON POSTED A REVISED ARTICLE--- THE TOKEN ISN'T AS BAD AS IT FIRST SEEMED! (WHEW!) SEE http://grc.com/su/earthlink.htm FOR DETAILS] Click to
email this item to a friend 6) Could you Use An Extra $10,000?The Recommend-It site gives away up to $10,000 as an incentive to use their service to recommend newsletters like this one! 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 $10,000 or other prizes from the folks at "Recommend-It:" 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. (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 7) ICQ Ad-BustersIn "ICQ Users Feel AOL's Gentle Touch" ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-03-19.htm#6 ), reader David S mentioned a site offering a way to strip the AOL-mandated ads--- er, "informational banners"--- that have appeared on the newest updates of ICQ. I don't use ICQ (or any IM client; in part because I consider them all significant security risks) so I can't comment first hand, but the folks at "The ADBusters team" sent this along:
So, if you're using ICQ and you'd like to try to eliminate the ads, now you have a better address. Click to
email this item to a friend 8) They Just Keep Coming And Coming and Coming...... and I keep trying to get caught up! 8-) Well over a thousand of your fellow readers have "Loaded the code." Rather than take up too much space in this issue, I've added a number of new sites directly to the "Reader Site Roulette" (where every click brings you to a new LangaList reader site) and to the standard browseable listings at Langa.Com If you'd like your site included in
a future round-up, please click over to http://www.langa.com/code.htm
! (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
) Manually Browse All Posted-to-Date
Sites Starting At: Click to
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Reading! --------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 9) Just For GrinsA while back, a "Just For Grins" item discussed easy ways to exercise--- such as wading through paperwork, bending over backwards, jumping on the bandwagon, balancing the books, and so on. ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-09-28.htm#10 ) It reminded reader Larry Coots of a list of attributes that "management says it takes to be successful in the office:"
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Exposure --- GREAT Prices! See http://www.langa.com/ratecard.htm <a href="http://www.langa.com/ratecard.htm">AOL Users: Click here!</a> --------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 10) Plus! Edition HighlightsToday's LangaList Plus! Edition contains all ten items above, plus about 30% more content including: a new private site just for Plus! subscribers; a lead on a slick--- and free!--- site-login tool; Part Two of how to transfer large files--- or even entire hard drive contents--- without a network, CDR, floppies, or Zip drives; and more on the WinMag/Byte fallout. Plus! Edition info: http://www.langa.com/plus.htm Click to
email this item to a friend 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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