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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2002-08-08

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!

1) Free Trip Photos And Files Now Online

As promised earlier this week, I've now posted my favorite photos, carefully selected from almost a full gigabyte of hi-res digital images that I took during a recent two-week driving trip through the Alps--- fabulous views at every turn. The photos were resized for fast download and will display in any normal browser: No special downloads or viewer software are needed.

In addition, I've posted two sample files from one of the actual GPS routes we drove (from Lausanne, Switzerland to Innsbruck, Austria) as part of that trip: The MPS routing file can be read by Garmin hardware and software; the ROU routing file can be read by Mapsource software.

In fact, the whole trip--- and all the photos you'll see--- were guided by GPS. So first, please click here to see the InformationWeek article  that makes all this GPS-related stuff make sense. <g>

The InformationWeek article also contains side-by-side screen shots that show you how different GPS mapping packages portray the same areas in radically different ways; illustrates errors (!) the software may cause; and tells you how a GPS can be used almost anywhere, even if you're outside the range of the maps built-into a given GPS unit.

Next, click for the photos and downloadable files:

Plus! Edition Subscribers click here to access photos and files from the private download area: http://www.langalist.com/Plus/euro/eurotrip.asp
Note:  For Plus!-Subscribers only, selected photos also are available in both compact low-res 640x480 size and full *wallpaper-quality* 24-bit color at 1600x1200 resolution--- your choice! Just click the above link.

Standard Edition Subscribers click here for the standard resolution photos from the public download area. Note that, due to high download volume, the server may be slow. http://www.freetune.com/euro/eurotrip.htm
(Std Edition readers can click here to sign up for the Plus! edition.)

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2) A Simple, Free Directory/Folder Lister

Reader Ernest N. Wilcox Jr. writes:

Hi Fred: My brother wanted a tool to list files with long file names, and the pathnames as well. Fortunately the win9x dir command provides this facility, so I simply created a batch file as a wrapper to simplify the batch files use. This batch file will create a list of files in the directory entered on the command line as well as the subdirectories and their contents, then place the list in a file also named on the command line. Finally, it will open notepad with the list file [or give a message that the file is too large and offer to open it in WordPad]. If placed in the c:\windows\command directory, users can create a shortcut on the desktop with the desired command line to simplify use This is not very elegant, but if it helps my brother, maybe it will help others as well. ---Ernie

::::::::::::::::::
@echo off
:: Program to create file list and view in notepad for printing.
:: Written by Ernest N. Wilcox Jr. 30, July 2002
:: This simple program may be used / modified at the users discretion / risk.
:: It is provided as is with no warranty of any kind.
:: Ernest N. WIlcox Jr. assumes absolutely no liability
:: resulting from the use of this DOS script.
:: To use this, the command line must contain the directory to be listed,
:: and the path/filename to put the list in.
:: Example: To list all files in drive d: and place the list in c:\filelist.txt use:
:: dirlist d:\ c:\filelist.txt
if "%1" == "" goto nodir
if "%2" == "" goto nofile
dir /s /b %1 > %2
notepad %2
goto end
:nodir
echo no directory path was provided to be listed
echo the command line must include a directory path
echo Example: dirlist d:\ c:\filelist.txt
pause
goto end
:nofile
echo no file path was provided to put the list in
echo the command line must include a file path name
echo Example: dirlist d:\ c:\filelist.txt
pause
goto end
:end
::::::::::::::::::

Thanks, Ernie. If you cut-and-paste the above commands (everything between the "::::::::::::::::::" lines) to Notepad and "Save As..." with a name such as "dirlist.bat," you then can click on the file, or create a shortcut  (as Ernie suggests) to dump the names of all the files in a folder/directory to the text file of your choice. handy for cataloging, sorting, or similar tasks!

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3) Windows 2000 SP3

If you're using Win2K, you probably already know about the just-released Service Pack 3--- a roll up of all bug fixes, security patches, and updates released so far for this OS. It's a 20MB+ beast that includes bug fixes in all these areas:

Application Compatibility
Base Operating System
Directory Services
Internet Information Services/Com+
Management/Administration
MSMQ
Networking
Printing
Security
Setup
Shell
Terminal Services
... and more

You can get a full list of all the bugs fixed in SP3 via the page at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q320853 .

You can download SP3 via Windows Update or at
http://www.microsoft.com/Windows2000/downloads/servicepacks/sp3/download.asp

BTW, like the recent Windows Media Player update, SP3 includes a modified End User License Agreement that is alarming some users. I plan to cover this in depth soon. Stay tuned.

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Dear Fred,  I just discovered an interesting site that you and your langalist subscribers might find interesting. You might want to check it out for the next time you write about browsers, particularly those with a "tab bar" interface.

The URL is http://tabby.tk/ .

By the way, I'm glad you enjoyed your vacation. But, Fred, I've got to tell you, I nearly went into withdrawal going so long without an issue of your much-appreciated newsletter. ;-) Keep up the good work.  Sincerely, Peter Dennery

Thanks, Peter. <g>

Tabby is an interesting site. Not only does it list 27 tabbed browsers you can download (most are free), it also lists five free alternatives to Microsoft Office, a source for inexpensive IPSs, and more. Although we've covered most of these separately before, it's very handy to have them all in one convenient site. Cool!

5) Remove "Recycle Bin" Icon From Any Version Of Windows

Hi Fred: My question is "How do you remove the recycle bin icon from the desktop in windows XP?". I read somewhere that you can do it but I couldn't find the book, also a search in google told me how to empty the recycle bin. Any ideas where I can find this info?? Thanks Andrew

Sure, Andrew; it can be done in all versions of Windows. But just to be clear: Removing the icon for Recycle Bin doesn't remove the actual Recycle Bin or prevent normal deletion functions. Even after removing the desktop icon, the Recycle Bin folders still appear in your directory structure, and you can still delete (or restore) files normally. All that happens is that the actual desktop icon goes away. (Some people like an ultra-clean desktop, with no icons.)

Microsoft provides some general information for manually removing any desktop icon (via a Registry edit) at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;q162170&

But a better site, offering click-to-run Registry patches that automatically remove the Recycle Bin icon in Win95 / 98 / ME / 2K / XP, is:
http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/article05-013

Other third-party tools (such as various "Tweakers") also do the same thing.

But again, note that none of the above actually removes the Recycle Bin itself; just the icon.

There are times when you may want to remove the actual Recycle Bin, such as when the Win98 Recycle Bin gets fouled up so that you get the message when you try to delete *any* file:

Cannot delete "", cannot find the specified path.
Make sure you typed the right path.

In that case, there's a fix for stripping out the entire Recycle Bin structure. Upon reboot, the Recycle Bin then rebuilds itself from scratch, and that usually fixes the "cannot delete any file" problem. See:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;Q246726&

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6) Don’t Make Me Beg! 8-)

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 for your trouble (full details also available via this link):
http://www.recommend-it.com/l.z.e?s=143182

Or, win a no-strings $30 Gift Certificate for any item at Amazon.Com--- books, software, hardware, kitchenware, toys... and more. To have a shot at winning, 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 $30 Gift Certificate! (Full details also available via this link):
http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm

Either way, thank you, and good luck!

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7) Return Of A Really Sleazy Scam

I'm a reader of yours since Winmag, and always appreciated your articles. Keep on! A friend of mine told me to visit this site http://www.ultraseek.net  and I was appalled [by a page there that shows they could view my hard drive contents]! I've got Win2k protected by ZoneAlarm... [but they showed] my root and main folders! Is this a problem of TCP/IP or IE? Best regards, Fernando Castro

It's not a problem at all, Fernando: It's a scam based on a hoax, and is solely designed to scare you into buying a questionable product.

In this case, the pages at Ultraseek have an "open on exit" script that brings you to an advertising scam page at  http://www.ultraseek.net/advert/error.php

That page loudly proclaims:

WARNING: Privacy Protection Software NOT DETECTED
Your Internet habits are being recorded.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD PRIVACY PROTECTION SOFTWARE!

The page then shows you the contents of your C:\ folder. It looks scary--- as if that site somehow could read the contents of your hard drive!

But it's just a variation on a scam we've exposed before at http://www.informationweek.com/841/langa.htm . The scam page really just issues a "file://c:/" command to your browser, which then locally (and harmlessly) displays your hard-drive contents. Nothing is sent to or from the remote site; the process is entirely self-contained within your PC. You can accomplish the same thing a lot less mysteriously simply by typing "file://c:/" in the address bar of your browser. Go ahead: Try it!

The site owners figure you'll be scared when you see your hard drive contents displayed on what appears to be their web site. They then play off that fear by trying to get you to buy something called "Internet Eraser Pro," which is very nearly another scam:  This piece of, er, software costs $100, but is really just a glorified version of the totally FREE cleanup techniques spelled out at http://www.langa.com/cleanup_bat.htm .

There's nothing overtly illegal in any of this: For example, they don't actually snoop your system, or expressly claim to be able to do so. But they clearly want you to *think* that they can see your hard drive contents; and they clearly want to use fear to sell you ridiculously overpriced software whose core functions you can duplicate for free. This is, in my opinion, a grossly unethical way to do business.

What's more, even if you clean your hard drive of all traces of surfing, a file://c:/  command still will display the contents of your c:\ folder inside your browser. So, you could spend the $100, and not solve the "problem" they used to scare you in the first place!

I'd call these people "pond scum," except that that would be insulting to pond scum.

Don't be taken in, and don't give these unethical bozos any business. Instead, use any of the reliable security sites discussed at http://www.informationweek.com/841/langa.htm and http://www.informationweek.com/840/langa.htm  to see what, if anything, you really need to improve your online security.

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8) 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 thousands 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 From Among All Listed
http://www.langa.com/randomlink.htm

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

Sustainable World
http://www.sustainableworld.org.uk/

Dakota designs
http://www.dakotacustomdesigns.com/

Graphics Design
http://www.graphicsdesignonline.com/

Office Gadzette (MS Office site)
http://www.gadzette.com/

Troubleshooters PC Consulting (Tx)
http://www.ts-consulting.net/

Password:Swordfish (Personal Site):
http://ethanehunte.tripod.com/

Tim Potter (Personal Site)
http://home.tnt21.com/~tnpotter/index.htm

Equipment Lease Auditing and Analysis
http://www.nettecassociates.net/index.html

Will's home on the web --police links
http://www.willathome.run.to

Speak Out Loud
http://www.speakoutloud.org/speakout/all.htm

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9) Free Reader-Crafted Process-Stopper

"Process Stoppers" have cropped up in recent issues, for example in "Restart Without Reboot" ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-08-01.htm#5 ) and "Firewall Feedback" ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-08-05.htm#2 ). In reply, reader Ian Upton  writes:

Thanks, Ian. It's a lean, focused tool with no bells and whistles: It just does one thing, and very well.

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10) Just For Grins

Dick Pederson offers this bit of pseudo-scientific wishful thinking:

Fred, I don't remember where I picked this up so I cannot attribute it properly, however, I thought you would enjoy reading about this novel diet:

As we all know, it takes 1 calorie to heat 1 gram of water 1 degree centigrade. Translated into meaningful terms, this means that if you eat a very cold dessert (generally consisting of water in large part), the natural processes which raise the consumed dessert to body temperature during the digestive cycle literally sucks the calories out of the only available source, your body fat.

For example, a dessert served and eaten at near 0 degrees C (32.2 degrees F) will, in a short time, be raised to the normal body temperature of 37 degrees C (98.6 degrees F). For each gram of dessert eaten, that process takes approximately 37 calories as stated above. The average dessert portion is 6 oz, or 168 grams. Therefore, by operation of thermodynamic law, 6,216 calories (1 cal./gm/deg. x 37 deg. x 168 g) are extracted from body fat as the dessert's temperature is normalized.

Allowing for the 1,200 latent calories in the dessert, the net calorie loss is approximately 5,000 calories. Obviously, the more cold dessert you eat, the better off you are and the faster you will lose weight, if that is your goal.

This process works equally well when drinking very cold beer in frosted glasses. Each ounce of beer contains 16 latent calories, but extracts 1,036 calories (6,216 cal. per 6 oz. portion) in the temperature normalizing process. Thus, the net calorie loss per ounce of beer is 1,020 calories. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to calculate that 12,240 calories (12 oz. x 1,020 cal./oz.) are extracted from the body in the process of drinking a can of beer.

Frozen desserts, e.g., ice cream, are even more beneficial, since it takes 83 cal./gm to melt them (i.e., raise them to 0 deg. C) and an additional 37 cal./gm to further raise them to body temperature.

The results here are really remarkable, and it beats running hands down.

Unfortunately, for those who eat pizza as an excuse to drink beer, pizza (loaded with latent calories and served above body temperature) induces an opposite effect. But, thankfully, as the astute reader should have already reasoned, the obvious solution is to drink a lot of beer with pizza and follow up immediately with large bowls of ice cream.

We could all be thin if we were to adhere religiously to a pizza, beer, and ice cream diet.

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--

11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

• Free Info-Sharing Resource
• Silicon Valley vs West Nile
• Novel And Practical Use For "Dead Man" Software

Today's LangaList Plus! Edition contains all ten items above, plus about 30% more content including: A great, free way to share information with others on virtually any topic; software that may actually help repel mosquitoes, if you use your laptop or PC out of doors; and an eminently practical use for some decidedly odd "dead man switch" software!

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

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See you next issue!

Best,

Fred
( Editor@Langa.Com )

Please recommend the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win $10,000!I)

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