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LangaList 2003-03-24 Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!
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1) Let It Rain
Indeed, this technique isn't just for laptops--- it can work very well with any kind of older CPU and OS. In fact, we covered Rain and four other software cooling tools in "None Like It Hot" ( http://www.informationweek.com/LP/columnists/langa/2001/06.htm ). Note that some of the simpler, free tools (like Rain) don't work on newer OSes and CPUs--- like my XP-based Pentium IV system.For that system, I've recently found a new hybrid tool called Hardware Sensors Monitor ( http://www.hmonitor.com/ ); it not only shows you the temperature readings from whatever sensors are built into your PC (newer systems typically have CPU, motherboards, and hard drive temperature probes), but also can employ several different strategies to help keep things cool. For example, on newer CPUs (like the Pentium IV) it can throttle the CPU to lower speeds in the event of overheating. On older systems and CPUs that don't do so on their own, it can implement the "Halt" instruction trick (which stops the CPU when there's no work to do). Unlike some of the other tools, Hardware Sensors Monitor isn't free--- you can *try* it for free, but it's $30 if you want to keep it. For me, it was worthwhile because it replaces several separate tools with a simple, unified cooling-and-monitoring utility; and works fine even on XP and newer CPUs. Click to email this item to a
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 2) One Of XP Home's Limitations
I know of no workaround. It's ironic--- one could argue that a home PC is more likely to have multiple users than is a business PC, and a greater need for easy access to accounts with different security levels because a home box probably isn't running behind a heavy-duty business-class firewall. But it's XP Pro that has better control over user accounts, and the means to hop between or among them. For example consider this arbitrary distinction between the different flavors of XP: XP Pro not only has the "Run As..." option mentioned above, it also has "Fast User Switching" that lets you completely jump between user accounts in seconds--- you don't have to laboriously log out of and shut down one account before you enter another, as XP Home forces you to do. In XP Pro, you can leave one user account running--- with files open, apps running, whatever--- and simply hop into a completely separate account with its own privileges, apps, workspace, and so on. When you're done--- or anytime you want--- you can hop back to the first account and pick up where you left off. This ease of switching, coupled with XP Pro's greater flexibility in setting up types and levels of user accounts, offers a much more convenient way to handle things, and to leave potentially-dangerous Admin-level accounts largely off-limits for day to day operations. XP is a good OS overall, but some of the ways Microsoft chose to neuter parts of XP Home make me go, "Hmmmmm." Click to email this item to a
friend 3) More Security Holes...Microsoft Update may have already nagged you about this scripting engine security problem:
Info and patch: And then there's this "buffer overrun" problem; one of so many I've lost count. This fundamental security flaw keeps cropping up in Microsoft software; it's the #1 corporate blind spot at Microsoft, responsible for more security holes than any other type of programming security error there.
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 4) New Letter, Drawing From ReynaRemember Reyna, a 12-year-old girl who lives in Guatemala? Some time ago, she became one of the eight kids supported each and every month through the LangaList Plus subscription fund. Her introductory info is here, and a previous photo and note are here. She's written again: Her note was decorated with a new crayon drawing, and she's now able to write in script instead of printing. You can see her drawing and a scan of her note at http://www.freetune.com/newsletters/2002/reyna_3.htm The note translates as:
What's this all about? Very simply this: Those of us with computers and Internet access are vastly better off than most of the world's population. Because of this, I decided that a portion of the LangaList Plus! subscription fees would be donated to registered/legitimate charities helping the underprivileged around the world. The contribution does not increase the cost of a Plus! subscription in any way; the donation is taken "off the top" of any profits. (This is described in the pages at http://www.langa.com/plus.htm ) Reyna is one of eight kids sponsored on an ongoing basis (via an international relief agency) by the collective generosity of LangaList Plus! subscribers; Plus! subscribers also have collectively contributed to emergency earthquake relief efforts in India and to funds to assist those hurt in the Sept 11th terrorist attacks on the US. (To see all the donations so far, click to http://www.langa.com/plus2.htm#kids ) As the year goes on, and as more readers sign up for Plus! subscriptions, I hope we'll be able to sponsor more children and assist other charities around the world. If you're already a LangaList Plus subscriber, thank you! You can feel good about giving back a little to those less fortunate, and opening a door to the future for a child in otherwise-desperate circumstances. If you're not yet a Plus! subscriber check it out: With a Plus! subscription, you can not only help yourself make the most of your hardware, software and time online with expanded content and no advertising--- but you also can help those less fortunate (like Reyna) make the most of their very lives. Thanks for your help! Click to email this item to a
friend 5) Be Clean[late news: an unusually high percentage of readers are reporting trouble with this software--- caution is advised!!
Thanks, Scott. There are a couple other useful freeware tools there, too! (Note: When I checked the site, it was *very* slow even with just me visiting it. I suspect the site will probably choke under the onslaught of many LangaList readers, so you may wish to bookmark the above URL, and visit the site later, when the dust has settled.) Click to email this item to a
friend 6) Last Week To Enter March's FREE DrawingOn March 31, I'll choose another monthly winner of a no-strings $30 Gift Certificate for any item at Amazon.Com--- books, software, hardware, kitchenware, toys... 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 shopping spree! (Full details also available via this link): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm The more times you make a recommendation, the greater your chances are of
winning! Either way, thank you, and good luck! Click to email this item to a
friend 7) MailWasher Adds New FeaturesWe first covered the anti-spam tool MailWasher some time ago ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-09-27.htm#6 ). It's was good to start with, and it's been getting better and better:
Thanks, Vince. Mailwasher Pro looks better than ever. My only ongoing reservation with it is its optional use of external blacklists, like SpamCop's, which almost always cause more harm than good. But Mailwasher makes use of those blacklists optional, and allows you to "whitelist" known non-spam mailers, so you can sidestep the brain-dead blocking that blacklists otherwise try to enforce. Click to email this item to a
friend 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 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 ) Manually Browse All Posted-to-Date
Sites Starting At Microsoft Software Forum Network
PETE'S PLACE
Ambrosa Cowboy's Guide To Life Agates123 Vojislav Djindjic's Serbian Site Photolex Photography (TX) Humor Blog (content may offend some) Alaskan Computer Help One Million Pushups Click to email this item to a
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 9) "FixMBR"Last issue's "Undoing Dual-Boot Setups" http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-03-20.htm#3 generated a lot of mail, most of which involved readers asking for a simple way to restore the boot record in NTFS, much like the simple and nondestructive "FDISK /MBR" trick in DOS. (See http://www.google.com/search?as_q=mbr&as_sitesearch=langa.com ) The NTFS equivalent is called "FixMBR," and it can be invoked from the Recovery Console to repair damage to the master boot record--- or for things like helping to remove lingering traces of unwanted dual-boot setups. You can find info on FixMBR and the Recovery Console in the XP Help system (all versions), or: FixMBR: Recovery Console: Click to email this item to a
friend 10) Just For GrinsFollowing up on our recent coverage of actual (and very dumb) questions asked of staffers at US and Canadian National parks, Paul C. Jess sends along this slightly more fictitious item:
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 11) Plus! Edition Highlights:
Plus subscribers also have access to a private web site with over 100,000 words of special content and features not found in *any* issue of the newsletter, dozens of downloads, and much more. Get it all for just a buck a month! Check out: 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. UNSUBSCRIBE: From the same email account you
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