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LangaList 2002-01-07 Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 1) 10 Resolutions For Better Computing In 2002We all have our New Year's traditions; and as a card-carrying geek, one of
mine is to update a long-standing list of 10 things we all can do to help ensure
trouble-free computing in the new year. In any case, this year's list probably contains at least one or two items that can either help you get out of trouble with your hardware or software, or better still, prevent such trouble in the first place. The list--- too long to present here in an email--- is the subject of my first InformationWeek.Com column of the new year. It's live now at http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020102S0012 Please check it out and then join in the discussion: Did my list leave out something important, or overemphasize something not worthwhile? How would you improve the list? What are *your* New Year's computing resolutions? Click to http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020102S0012 and then join in the ongoing, week-long discussion. See you there! Click to email this item to a
friend 2) New Ways To Access "Backups" ArticleOver the holidays, an incredible number of you went online to read the free "Fast, Easy Backups For Win98 / ME / NT / 2K / XP" feature article ( http://www.langa.com/backups/backups.htm ); and to grab the free scripts I offered there to help you automate your backups and make them as easy as possible. But a number of readers asked if the text could be presented differently--- as an all-in-one download. Fortunately, two other readers stepped forward with exactly that solution! First, "as a holiday present to LangaList subscribers," frequent contributor Bronson Elliott packed the entire backup article into a simple, compact, searchable Windows Help File. You can download Bronson's help file (it's in compressed Zip format, so you'll need a suitable UnZipper, such as WinZip), place it anywhere on your hard drive, and then access any part of the article on backups with a click. Cool! Reader BillK had a similar idea, but text based: He downloaded and UNformatted the web-article into ultra-compact plain text which you can read in NotePad or any word processor. So now you have three ways to access the article on backups: Full text on the web ( http://www.langa.com/backups/backups.htm ); or downloadable in Bronson's custom Help File or in Bill's plain text. ( http://www.langa.com/backups/backups(13).htm ) Thanks, guys! Click to email this item to a
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 3) But EXACTLY What Needs To Be Backed Up?
It can be confusing indeed: You see, Win95, Win98, ME, NT, 2K and XP all can be configured in multiple ways (e.g. one user, multiple users; administrator logons vs user vs guest logons; etc). There's literally no way to give a generic answer that will fit every case because there are *hundreds* of permutations. You'd need a book to cover all the options! Even "standard" file locations vary hugely. For example, every version of Windows has some kind of "My Documents" folder, but the location can be anything from "C:\My Documents" in Win98 to something like "C:\Documents and Settings\[your username or logon here]\My Documents" in XP. Fortunately, the part of the name that usually never changes is "My Documents," so if you look for that, you'll then find it no matter where it's located on your system. Similarly, every version of Windows has a folder called "Desktop" that contains all the items that appear on the standard Windows desktop; the folder's location may vary, but it's normally always called "Desktop." So, although the specific folder locations may vary, a good routine mini-backup might start with My Documents, Desktop (if you store files there), Application Data, Cookies (to preserve web site passwords and logons), Favorites, and Local Settings. If you use non-Microsoft email, you'll also want to include your mail folder (e.g. "Eudora"); plus any other folder in which you place important data or settings. How can you tell what those other folders might be? This may help: You can discover the default locations for many file types via web help sites: For example, http://www.google.com/search?q=default+locations+files+windows will bring you to many specialty sites that show you where files are normally placed. Beyond that, try the empirical method: If an application is auto-saving to a location you're unsure of, open a document that normally auto-saves, and click File/Save As: You'll be shown the default location for that file--- and other, similar files saved by that app. Digging deeper, Windows' "Find" or "Search" command also can help: Let's say you don't know where your email is being stored. Run your email app and grab some new messages. Close the email app. Then fire up Windows' "Find" or "Search" function and search for a unique phrase or word within an email you just got. If that doesn't work, select Find's or Search's "Date" or "Advanced" function to tell Windows only to show you only those files created or modified in the last day: Sort the results by selecting the "Details" view and clicking on the "(Date) Modified" heading: Your email files will carry a time/date stamp only a few minutes old, letting you select them from whatever other files were recently created. Similarly, if you don't know where some system setting is stored, try modifying the setting, and note the exact time when you save the new setting. Then use Search or Find as above: The file with the time stamp matching the time you saved your changes is most likely the one where those settings are stored. Thus, with a little digging, you can know where all your important files are, and can use that info to automate your backups as described in the article. Click to email this item to a
friend 4) Backups Via The Web?
Thanks, Dave. For people with light backup needs, a service like that can be good. But there are drawbacks. Large backups could take a very long time. Worse, this kind of backup isn't good for restoring a system that's been badly hosed because you'd have to have a functioning, well-connected system in order to download your backups in the first place--- a chicken/egg problem if you need the backups to get your system working again. (Or, you'd have to wait for the CDs to be mailed to you...) The cost also is a "Hmmmm" issue: Over the course of a year, this online method will cost more than a new CDR drive and a year's supply of bulk-purchase blank CDs! So, web-based backups aren't for me--- but for readers with lighter backup needs, it might be a good alternative. Thanks! Click to email this item to a
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 5) LavaSoft's Disappearing ActLavasoft--- maker of the excellent (and free) Ad-Aware anti-spyware tool--- has been having lots of trouble with its web site lately. Originally hosted in Germany, LavaSoft moved their main site to a US-based host, but things went bad in December. Many, many readers looking for updated spyware-detection lists were frustrated when the "lavasoftusa" site went dark. Ironically, the original German site--- plus two US mirror sites--- all continued to work fine. Only the main site was affected, but most people don't know about the alternative sites. If you're an Ad-Aware user (and many thousands of you are!), you may want to note the *four* main ways to access Lavasoft. The main site is working again (as I write this) but in the future, if it goes dark, just try one of the others: Main Site: Mirrors: Click to email this item to a
friend 6) Start The Year Richer!It's a new month in a new year, and right now your chances are the best they'll ever be! To have a shot at winning a no-strings $30 Gift Certificate for any item at Amazon.Com--- books, software, hardware, kitchenware, toys, and more--- 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 a mini-shopping spree! (Full details also available via this link): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#2 The more times you make a recommendation, the greater your chances are of winning! Or, if you'd like to try to win $10,000 (really!), try this link (full details also available here): http://www.recommend-it.com/l.z.e?s=143182 Either way, thank you, and good luck! Click to email this item to a
friend 7) Free! "Empty Temp Folders"Reader CL Shaw writes:
Thanks, CL. It does look cool. The site says:
While you can do all of these things via other means or other tools,
Emptemp is
nonetheless handy--- and you sure can't beat the price! 8-)
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 8) They Loaded The CodeDo 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 ) Speaking of which: Here's another eclectic sample of reader sites--- some professional, some very personal: View A Randomly-Chosen Reader Site Manually Browse All Posted-to-Date Sites Starting At Meta-Page of Great Links Systems Modelling Ltd. "The world of KA3UWW" SWEDENET Reynoldsrapp Ludington MI WITWORLD'S WITNEWS Humor Weekly Full Circle Integration Scribe's Incredimail Letters Collection Tiny's Web Pages Click to email this item to a
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 9) Free and Easy Browser SpeedUp
Thanks, Jason! I configure my internet connections manually when I first set up a system, so my "Automatically Detect Settings" box is never checked to start with. But for those who might have it set, this tip is worth checking out--- especially as you did, with before-and-after testing to verify that the change, if any, was a positive one. (By the way, Jason's been a frequent contributor
here. See Click to email this item to a
friend 10) Just For GrinsWriting from Canada, reader Nick Dormaar sends along these "PLAY(s) ON WORDS:"
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 11) Plus! Edition Highlights:
Ever make a typing error in a URL, and have IE save the bad address forever in the address-bar drop-down menu? Today's Plus edition has info on a completely free tool that lets you edit or delete those previously-entered URLs. In addition, we have info on creating a custom list of file types you want your email client to filter out or warn you about; and an expose on a widely-circulated XP performance tip that turns out to be dead wrong! 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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