|
Please visit the LangaList Home Page Please note: Older issues may contain information that is now out of date. How To
Subscribe and Unsubscribe is at the end of this
note. Mailing List Trouble? See
http://www.langa.com/help.htm Please recommend the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win $10,000 !) An easier-to read formatted
HTML version of this newsletter is available The
LangaList 2001-12-17 Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!
--- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )--------------
1) Rethinking “Software Bloat”Reader Randy King recently performed an unusual experiment that provided some really good, end-of-the-year food for thought:
It was interesting to read of Randy’s experiment, but it started an itch somewhere in the back of my mind: Something about it nagged at me, and I came to conclude that there might be more to this than meets the eye. So, in search of an answer, I went digging in the closet where I store old software. It took some rummaging, but there in a dusty 5.25” floppy tray were my install disks for the first truly successful version of Windows--- 3.0. The complete operating system (which shipped a decade ago) fit on four 1.2MB floppies; a little under 5MB total. In comparison, today’s Windows XP Professional setup CD comes filled with roughly 100 times as much code; a little under 500MB total. By itself, that “factor of 100” was worthy of note, but then it struck me: Windows 3.0 ran on systems that typically operated at around 25 MHz or so. Today’s top-of-the-line systems run at about 2 GHz; the same rough “factor of 100” holds for hardware, too! So today we have a new operating system with roughly 100 times as much code as a decade ago, running on systems roughly 100 times faster than a decade ago. It begs the question: Is today's software 100 times better? Are we 100 times better off? Are our systems 100 times more stable? Are we 100 times more productive? I believe today’s software is unquestionably better than that of a decade ago, but nowhere near 100 times. Mostly, that two-orders-of-magnitude increase in code quantity is not matched by anything close to an equal increase in code quality. Software growth without obvious benefit is the very definition of “code bloat.” Ironically, even though we all complain about code bloat, we also actually help contribute to it. (I'll explain in a moment.) What's more, some of what we call "bloat" really isn't; and some of the root causes for true bloat are sometimes almost intractable. The deeper you look into code bloat, the more complex--- and interesting--- it gets! I've pulled together some examples of true and false bloat; an explanation of how we (perhaps unwittingly) contribute to bloat; some great links that will help you full understand what's going on with bloat; and some predictions about the possible future of bloated code in the new InformationWeek LangaLetter that's live now at http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20011212S0003 . Please come check it out. And then join in: What’s the worst example of bloat you know of? Are any companies producing lean, tight code anymore? Do you think code bloat is simply the result of institutional sloppiness on the part of Microsoft and other software vendors, or is there more to it? Do you think code bloat will reach a plateau, or will it continue indefinitely? Check out the article at http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20011212S0003 and then join in the discussion at http://www.informationweek.com/forum/Fred Langa ! See you there! Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 2) Digging Information From Stubborn Sites
Sorry you had trouble, Alfonso. It can be hard to access old WinMag information, even though the TechWeb site actually does have most of it on file. In this case, the links I gave were OK (I always do check links before I post them in a newsletter); perhaps you ran into a temporary glitch. But no doubt about it, at other times you can and will sometimes run into what seem to be true dead-ends on the TechWeb site; and the TechWeb search engine is not very good at all. I've gone searching on TechWeb for articles I know exist--- because I wrote them!--- and still have had the search engine deliver a "not found" reply. Duh! And TechWeb isn't the only site that has information that's hard to extract. For example, Microsoft's support site also contains a world of outstanding information, but trying to find what you want--- even using the Knowledgebase search tools--- can be extremely frustrating. There's a better way: We discussed it in this newsletter almost a year ago ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-03-15.htm#3 ). Although that reader tip was specific to searching Microsoft's site, you can use it on *any* site and usually will get better search results than from the site's own search engine!
Thanks a second time, Adam. <g> Actually, in the above example, using "support.microsoft.com" (the support subsite) gives better results than just using the generic "microsoft.com." In the case of TechWeb, you use "content.techweb.com" as the domain, and you'll then be able to dig out some old WinMag articles that TechWeb's own engine reports as "not found." Try it-- the Google advanced search is awesomely powerful and flexible! Click to email this item to a
friend 3) Some Sites Really *Are* Dead...... and sometimes, you even help to kill them! For example, in the Dec 10th issue of this newsletter, I described a site that lets you "Access 1400 Search Engines, Worldwide." The site--- which really was up and running at http://www.twics.com/~takakuwa/search/search.html when I wrote that issue--- soon died under the onslaught to LangaList subscribers stampeding over to take a look. It appears that the web host simply removed the page from the server! With luck, the site will be put back, and then--- if we trickle in, rather than all showing up in a crowd--- maybe the site will *stay* up, too. <g> Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 4) Easy, Free "Drive Rescue"
Thanks, Ian. Drive Rescue works on any flavor of FAT partition (not NTFS), and says it can:
Given that it's free, how can you go wrong? Definitely worth a look! Click to email this item to a
friend 5) Saving Updates To DiskWe've previously mentioned Microsoft's Win98 and other download sites--- places where you can manually download whatever patches or updates you need, rather than solely working through the automated front end of Windows Update: With a manual download, you have more control over the process, and also can save a local copy of whatever patch or update you're getting, so you won't have to re-download it again in the future. For example, Microsoft's general download sites are at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.asp and http://www.microsoft.com/technet/downloads/itdownloads/default.asp . There's also a good Win98-specific download site at http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/downloads/corporate.asp . But what about XP? Reader William Dyehouse asks:
There actually is a fairly simple way to access the XP patches for download (without auto-install), and it's integrated right into the XP version of Windows Update, making it actually more convenient than the download sites for the other versions of Windows. First, go to the XP Windows Update site the normal way, and under "Personalize" in the left pane, select "Display the link to the Windows Update Catalog." That link--- which will also appear in the left pane--- takes you to a searchable online database of XP-related patches and updates: You can select and download-to-disk all the various items from there. Cool! Click to email this item to a
friend 6) Want $10,000 To Spend For The Holidays?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:" 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 Either way, thank you, and good luck! Click to email this item to a
friend 7) New, Free and *Fast* Firewall Tester
Thanks, Ken. And no, I hadn't seen that one. Conceptually, it's similar to Steve Gibson's "Shields Up" (at http://grc.com) or the "SecureMe" tests in the tools section of http://www.dslreports.com , but it tests more ports than either's basic tests, and is quite fast, too. Nice! Click to email this item to a
friend 8) They Just Keep Coming And Coming and Coming...Well over 1,700 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 ) Manually Browse All Posted-to-Date Sites Starting At National Tap (Dance) Ensemble Welkom bij Philip's WebPages TomLacko.com Sarvodaya School For The Deaf (Sri
Lanka) Driduck Diving & Watersports West Virginia Home Hermits Holler at
Southprong Dog Tags Online Jim's Cop Stuff Bears Den Spitfire Aviation Collectables Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 9) Alternative Free PC Audit ToolIn "Free PC Software Audit" ( That prompted reader Ronald Nicolai to write:
Thanks, Ronald! Click to email this item to a
friend 10) Just For Grins"Barry" sends along these alternative answering machine greetings:
Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 11) Plus! Edition Highlights
Today's LangaList Plus! Edition contains all ten items above, plus about 30% more content including: A free download that can make advanced searching (as described in #2, above) an incredibly simple, one-click exercise; expert reader feedback about the risks and benefits of a new email encryption tool; and an easy way you can select exactly what attachments Outlook should allow, or filter! Plus! Edition info: http://www.langa.com/plus.htm NOTE: ONLY ONE MORE ISSUE TO GO 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. UNSUBSCRIBE: From the same email account you
used to sign up with), send an email to |
|
Please visit the LangaList Home Page |