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LangaList 2003-11-20 A Free Email Newsletter from
Fred Langa Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!
Fred's Own Reference
Shelf--- And Up To 20% Discounts! --------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 1) More On Solving Automatic Maintenance Problems"Wizards"--- the software kind, not the Tolkien or Rowling variety--- can be both a help and a hindrance. On the plus side, they can vastly simplify complex computer operations, and guide you through unfamiliar tasks. For example, the "Backup Wizard" asks you a series of easy questions, tries to figure out what you want, and then automatically turns your choices into a complex command line that the operating system can understand. Sometimes, that command line can be literally hundreds of characters long. It would be a nightmare to try to produce such a command manually, but the Wizard makes it simple. But on its own, a Wizard-generated task may not integrate well with other maintenance tasks: A Wizard generates its commands in isolation, with no good way of knowing how you might want one task to coordinate with other tasks that may need to run before or after. Even with a tool like Task Scheduler, you can end up guessing, and hoping you get the timing and sequence right. There's a better way: A hybrid approach that lets you merge all the power and ease of a Wizard with all the flexibility, coordination, and proper sequencing of non-Wizard methods--- the best of both! This easy-but-powerful hybrid solution is the focus of the article at http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=16100473 . There, we'll illustrate techniques that can work for many complex tools and utilities that have a Wizard or similar front end that integrates with Task Scheduler. We'll show you how you can use a Wizard to cut through the complexity of setting up some tasks, but then "steal" the Wizard-generated data for use as you see fit in your own custom scripts and batch files! It's easy and opens up incredible power to you. The new article also contains back-links to the original "Make Windows XP Self-Maintaining" article, in case you missed it the first time around. Come check out the articles at http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=16100473 , and see how you can unlock even more power in your maintenance tools! Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList S.E. Free! ) --- "Fred, I relish finding useful tips in your LangaList even after Thanks, Brian! The LangaList Plus!
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your annual subscription for even less! --------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 2) Mirror, Mirror, On The Web......I wish your hit-count would soon ebb. OK, now you know why I'm a writer and not a poet. But what prompts this doggerel is that we've again stressed a good site's servers with a huge, rapid influx of LangaList readers. It was the "Total Hardware" site mentioned in "Nineteen Thousand Jumper Settings!" ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-11-17.htm#7 ); or http://th99.pley.org/ . What I didn't know then is that the Pley.Org site isn't the actual home of the huge and valuable list of jumper settings; it's a "mirror" or authorized copy of the Total Hardware info. If you had trouble reaching the Pley mirror site, this may be helpful:
Thanks, Fraser. Now, all I can do is hope that breaking a mirror site doesn't cause seven years of bad URLs... Click to email this item to a
friend 3) More Cures for Too-Slow PCsIn "Don't Waste Your Money On Bogus Speed-Up Tools" ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-11-13.htm#1 ) we answered a reader's question about software fixes for speeding up a Compaq PC that was running much, much slower than it should have--- taking as long as 5 minutes to boot! Because the question was specifically about software fixes, that's what we focused on. But several other readers wrote in to point out a common non-software problem that can cause a new PC--- or *any* PC!--- to drag its feet. For example:
Thanks, Thomas, and all who wrote in. Indeed: Although XP can run (or rather, limp) in just 64MB of RAM, 128MB is usually cited as the practical minimum for doing anything useful. Trouble is, that 128MB minimum is just that--- a minimum--- and it mainly applies to running *just the OS by itself* with very few other tasks, applications or utilities. When a vendor takes that minimal 128MB system and then adds in all kinds of extraneous baggage, bells, whistles and background tasks, it can easily push the OS into deep molasses. It gets even worse in systems that take away some of the system RAM for use in a "shared video" setup, as many lower-end PCs do (see http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-10-03.htm#3 ). And it gets worse still if the system comes with a low-end, relatively slow hard drive that simply can't generate disk-based virtual memory fast enough for snappy performance. The bottom line is that scrimping on RAM is a false economy. BUT--- and it's a big "but"--- scrimping on *vendor installed* RAM may be smart. You see, vendors often charge far, far more for RAM than it's really worth. For example: As I write this, the Compaq site is advertising memory upgrades on new entry-level Presarios. Compaq wants $60 to upgrade to 256MB, or $160 to bring the RAM to 512MB. But you can get top-quality memory for less than half those prices, if you add the RAM yourself. And it's easy: Adding RAM is often a no-tools, snap-in process with newer PCs. For example, Crucial (a major memory manufacturer that sells direct to the public), sells 128MB Presario memory upgrades for $26--- less than half the $60 that Compaq wants. Even better, you can add 512MB of Presario RAM for $81 at Crucial. And note that that last amount isn't an upgrade to 512MB--- it's adding a full 512MB on top of the system's base 128MB, for a total of 640MB of RAM. In other words, you can end up with 640MB of RAM for half of what Compaq wants you to pay for just 512MB. I'd call that a bargain. That's just one example, of course; but the deals are similar for most other systems and amounts of RAM from third party sources. The key thing is NOT to scrimp on RAM, and NOT to let system vendors' high prices stand in your way. Abundant RAM isn't splurging--- it's the foundation of good computing. [Full disclosure note: Crucial is a LangaList advertiser ( http://www.langa.com/sponsors/crucial.htm ). You certainly don't have to use Crucial. I cite them just as an example, because I'm familiar with their prices, guarantees, return policy, etc. I buy my own RAM there, but there are many other sources for low-cost RAM.]
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )------------- 4) Site MovesWith apologies to Bob Seger, and having nothing whatsoever to do with "tryin' to make some front page drive-in news," there is a site move in the offing. <g> Next week, I'll be killing the Hostway-sited version of Langa.Com and moving it to a new host. ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-11-06.htm#2 ) With luck, it will all be transparent to you, with no outward sign of the change at all. But if you do run into trouble reaching the Langa sites or in sending me email (which passes through the Langa.Com servers), please just try again a little later. (I chose this moment to move the site because it should be a relatively slow week, with a US national holiday. I hope the move can take place with absolutely minimal disruption to all.) By the way: There is one known issue that may affect readers who employ software that misuses the Hosts file on a PC. A Hosts file is an old technology that was originally designed to let LAN-based PCs know where their local server was without having to hunt for it. That was once fine, because LAN server addresses or names rarely change. But the Hosts file has been co-opted by some Internet tools. Sometimes, low-quality "web speedup" and ad-blocking tools use a Hosts file to store the address not of a local, invariable server, but of numerous internet and web sites, whose addresses are supposed to be dynamic. The whole idea of the internet's architecture is flexibility: The internet's domain name servers (DNS) match up a site's name to whatever its current numeric address is. When you call up a web site, your browser or mail tool queries DNS to find the site's current address, and sends you there. Sites can move from one numeric internet address to another, but as long as their name stays the same, you'll automatically follow the sites anyplace they go because DNS will feed you the current address. Thus, when I tell the domain name servers that "Langa.Com" has moved to a new IP address, those servers make note of the change, and automatically serve up the new address the next time your browser requests a Langa.Com page. DNS is normally very reliable, and invisible--- and that's how it's supposed to be. But Host file entries override DNS. If you're using software that hard-wired the old Langa.Com address into a local Hosts file, your browser will always try to go to that old address, even when it's no longer valid. In this way, the Hosts file sabotages one of the internet's most-powerful abilities--- automatic, invisible rerouting. With a Hosts file in the way, you can get a "page not found" or other error, and it will look like the site's down, even though it's not. (See http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000&sp-q=evil+hosts ) Some people swear by tools that use Hosts files. But it's a technology designed for static LANs, not the dynamic internet, and it can (and does) cause trouble. If you're using such a tool, you'll need to either remove Langa.Com from your Hosts file, or tell the software to regenerate the Hosts entry, after the move next week. But again, with a little luck, all will go smoothly and we won't be, um, "workin' on mysteries without any clues." Click to email this item to a
friend 5) A Better Monitor Testing Tool
Some newer monitors have an amazing array of built-in test patterns that fully exercise the hardware (all modes, resolutions, color depths, etc) and also let you make on-screen adjustments such as pincushion, keystone, rotation, convergence, and more. If your monitor provides these tests (check the owner's manual, or monitors' hardware control functions), you won't need a software-based test. But absent that, a tool like the Nokia test can help a lot. (There are many other, similar tests, too; Google can dig 'em up for you.) Thanks, Tom! Click to email this item to a
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )------------- 6) Recommend This Newsletter And Win!If you think the LangaList is a worthwhile read, maybe a friend would find it useful too! Just use the following link to recommend the LangaList---your friend may find a new source of useful information and you just may win one of three FREE ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTIONS to the LangaList Plus! edition given each month. (If your name is drawn and you're already a Plus! subscriber, your current subscription will be extended by a full year.) Check out the details at http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm . Thanks for recommending the LangaList--- and good luck! Click to email this item to a
friend 7) Delousing Public PCs
It's a good idea, Alan! You do have to be careful with removing or quarantining some items that owners of a public PC might *want* on the system. As one example, some software uses "Backweb" for totally legitimate purposes: auto-updating. But because it can be misused, many anti-spyware tools report Backweb as spyware, and offer to remove it. If you do that, you may break the installed software. So you have to be careful and conservative in running these tools on someone else's system. But do run them. And when you do, as Alan says, run at least two tools to let one backstop the other, catching whatever falls through the cracks. In fact, I usually run three tools, just to be certain. See http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-08-25.htm#2 for suggestions. Click to email this item to a
friend 8) 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 PCCitizen Web Strider (portal) Supplement Dealer Heathen House (not for the
easily offended) LVWNET Website and Graphic
Design Paul and Gail's CONNECTICUT ACCOUNTING Route53 (link portal) Killer Canary Single Step Click to email this item to a
friend 9) Linux: Messier And MessierIn http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-11-10.htm#5 , we discussed how Novell was moving to acquire SUSE, a popular and well-respected Linux distribution. Now, there's this:
What a mess. With this, plus the other Linux legal hassles (SCO has tossed several huge spanners into the works...), and the moves by RedHat to scale back its free offerings ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-11-06.htm#7 ), it's not a happy time in the Linux community. It probably won't directly affect individual users much in the short term, although the long-term consequences could be major, depending on how SCO's suits go. And the legal mess totally clouds the picture for commercial users: They can no longer be certain that their version of Linux--- or even they themselves--- won't be found in violation of some other company's intellectual property rights. It's really too bad. One of the central attractions of Linux was that it was relatively unencumbered by legal folderol. I'd hate to see Linux sidelined by litigation; or re-absorbed into a completely conventional corporate product mix. Cross your fingers. Click to email this item to a
friend 10) Just For GrinsOK, I swear this will be the last weather-related item for a while! <g>
Thanks, Norm. It's typical November weather here in New Hampshire: Plerumque Nubila Frigus in quo Ros apparet 32F / 0C Umor 50% Ventus Tranquilla Pressio 30.25 in / 1024.3 hPa Cadentia per Horam 0.00 in / 0 mm. Four years of Latin in High School, and I finally get to use it! 8-) Click to email this item to a
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