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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2006-01-12

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) 10 Critical Factors When Buying A New PC

Here's just one of the real-life issues we face when buying a new PC today:

Happy New Year Fred! Thanks for your newsletter.

Consumers appear to be the winners in the plus/minus war now that low-cost DVD burners which write both formats are common.  'Way back' when the choice was either/or, the decision was: Do I buy a plus or a minus DVD burner?  Today, the question is: Do I buy plus or minus recordable media?  Or is it?  Now that the +/- burner decision is moot, is there any real advantage (greater compatibility, longer life, or other) of one disk format over the other?  Or are both formats uniformly equal in all significant respects and cost of reliable brands now the only major consideration? Thanks for your consideration, Chris

In a new (free) column now posted at
http://www.informationweek.com/windows/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=175801892 ,
we'll look at 10 major factors to consider in making a PC purchase this year, including removable storage (such as Chris's DVD questions) plus CPU and memory, graphics and video, system architecture and bus types, hard drives/mass storage, external ports, networking, display, noise, energy use, and major issues such as which OSes will the PC be expected to run during its lifetime (XP? Vista? Linux? the new Intel-based Mac OS?...)

When we're done, you'll have the information you need to make the right hardware choices today, so that no matter what OSes come into vogue, and no matter what hardware standards may evolve to, your new PC will remain useful for years to come!

(And to answer Chris's specific question: I do recommend +/-R DVD burners, dual-layer if possible; and -R media. There's actually not a lot of difference between the +R and -R media, but I've seen some tests that give a slight edge to the -R format; and there also seem to be more -R drives out there. So, FWIW, on my own PC, my burner is a +/- unit, and I use mostly -R media.)

Click on over to
http://www.informationweek.com/windows/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=175801892  for lots more info on all the variables that go into choosing a new PC. See you there!

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2) Feedback On Vista & XP's Lifecycle

I got some unusual--- even angry--- emails after reporting on the current, incomplete (and sometimes contradictory) information Microsoft offers for the planned roll out of "Vista" and the ramping down of support for its current OSes. One irate reader even called me a liar for merely reporting exactly what's on Microsoft's own "Product Lifecycle pages," as if I'm making it up! (BTW: That's why I include links to this stuff; so you can see for yourself.)

As of today (as I write this) the MS lifecycle pages still say that XP Home's support will end on Dec 31 of this year ( http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?p1=3221 ); and XP Pro's support is still scheduled to ratchet down to the "extended" maintenance level on that same date. This is in keeping with Microsoft's longstanding lifecycle policy: "Consumer" products (like XP Home) have a 5-year life; "professional" or "business" products (like XP Pro) have a 10-year life. As XP came out in 2001, you can do the math for yourself to see where the end-of-life dates came from.

Is this the last word on the subject? Probably not. As I said in the last issue:

Microsoft has juggled the lifecycle schedules of its products many times before and no doubt will do so again. In fact, as I write this, many of the official lifecycle information pages at Microsoft.Com are offline, presumably for updating. But the following pages are working as I write this, and may help if you have questions about Microsoft's product lifecycles:

Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy FAQ:
http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifepolicy

Support Lifecycle Index (all MS products):
http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifeselectindex

Those pages ARE in flux, just as I said in the last issue; there are changes being made RIGHT NOW. But some readers still blamed *me* for the confusion about and/or their anger at Microsoft's unclear plans. Guys, I don't write the pages on the Microsoft site, and I sure don't make Microsoft's policies. All I can do is report what's there.

Again, and as I tried to explain here ( http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-01-09.htm#1 ) and on the InformationWeek site ( http://www.informationweek.com/windows/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=175801892 ): MS has indeed juggled the lifecycle plans for individual products in the past, most notably with Win98, which MS has scheduled for end-of-support three or four times, but granted last-minute reprieves each time. My guess is that MS will finally pull the plug on Win98 support sometime this year (support is currently scheduled to end in June).

My further guess is that--- when the time comes--- MS will extend the lifecycle for XP. Microsoft has NOT officially done this yet, but they do have wiggle-room language on their site that says that support may be extended for up to two years after a successor product comes out. So from this, and from the precedent of Win98, one might guess that XP "mainstream" support will be extended for two years after Vista, or "Vista Home" (or whatever it will be called) appears. As a further guess, if Vista is a dud, or is very slow to be accepted, then XP's support may be extended even further, just as Win98's was.

But that has NOT happened yet, and it's probably not a great plan to count on indefinite extensions beyond a product's announced support lifecycle; or on soft language and unilaterally defined terms, such as what actually constitutes a "successor product." When and if this all becomes clearer, I'll let you know--- or you can check the Microsoft pages for yourself.

But please: If you don't like Microsoft's lifecycle plans, or find contradictory information in different parts of Microsoft's sites, don't blame me. I'm not Bill Gates, OK? <g>

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3) What's Eating His CPU Cycles?

Fred, Re 'registry bloat' ( http://langa.com/newsletters/2005/2005-10-13.htm#1 ) and registry repair ( http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=171203805 ), I've been very happy with 'TuneUp Utilities 2006.' A free thirty day trial is available. At your suggestion, I've run it several times in a row, and I do not get repeat errors, unless I've messed around with the registry one way or another.

In line with this problem, I wish you'd outline in the newsletter how one can solve this problem: If I turn on Task Manager, and click on 'Performance', the little green square that appears in the tray frequently will reflect 100% use of the CPU, for really long periods, even when I have nothing running on the computer (I also use SpeedUpMyPC, which shows the same thing, in a slightly different way). How can one isolate this problem to determine what it is that is eating up the CPU cycles  --  it really slows down the computer, and if I could find what is causing the problem, I can keep it shut down most of the time, or even find a substitute for it.

Hope you see your way clear to mentioning this in the letter. Thanks for your good work. ---Stu Godwin

While you're in Task Manager, take another look at the Processes tab: Click on the CPU heading there to sort the processes according to how much CPU usage they're getting. (In other words, sort the list so the most CPU-hungry processes are at the top of the list.) There, you'll see exactly whatever's consuming your CPU time.

If your system is very busy, the list may be a little confusing as items jump to the top of the list and then jump back down again as they go active and inactive; but if you watch for a little while, you'll see what's consistently at or near the top.  

Once you know what process or processes are keeping the CPU so busy, you can take steps to rein it in. If the listed processes are unfamiliar, do a Google search on the process name to help identify it, or what software "owns" the process. (eg http://www.google.com/search?q=identify+process+xp )

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4) Too Telegraphic An Answer?

Sometimes, in trying to be succinct, I omit some detailed background information so as not to repeat myself too much. But sometimes I omit too much background (sorry!). I usually find out by a flurry of emails like this:

Fred: RE: http://www.langalist.com/Plus/newsletters/2006/2006-01-05plus.asp
Telegraphic Questions Re: Partitions---"by keeping my 8GB C: partition relatively clean and lean, using high data compression for my images, and by NOT including swapfiles/pagefiles, temp files, System Restore files, and other nonessential space hogs in the image, I usually can fit everything on a single 4.7GB DVD disc."

I have the similar situation, and wonder specifically how to do this.

Temp files can be manually deleted with CleanXP
http://langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-04-04.htm#2  . Is this the what you were suggesting?

System Restore files can be minimized by setting them down in the O/S. They are about useless and their function is taken by backup and imaging.

Other nonessential space hogs--I guess you mean specifying as much as possible files to not be in C:--for example the emails for an email program installed in C:  but told to be in D:/.../My Documents/email. Any other ideas?

Swapfiles/pagefiles is the thing I don't understand. From what I read one must have the pagefile in the C: partition, and with 1 GB RAM it should be at least 750 megs or more. How can I save all or some of this space when do my imaging? ---Theo Tanalski

Temp files: There are many tools to do this, but yes, my primary tool is the free "Cleanall" ( http://langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-04-04.htm#2 ) complemented by periodic use of the cleaners in JV16 Powertools and/or Easycleaner. (See http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=171203805 . )

System Restore: For full info, see "Maximizing System Restore In WinME and WinXP" http://www.informationweek.com/showArticle.jhtml;?articleID=6502792

Other nonessential space hogs: See http://langa.com/backups/backups(4).htm and surrounding pages.

Swapfiles/pagefiles: See "Isolate The Swapfile/Paging File" ( http://langa.com/newsletters/2004/2004-03-15.htm#1 ). But note that the better imaging tools usually skip the swapfile/pagefile contents anyway, as it's pointless to back up. Still, moving the swapfile out of the way makes it 100% certain that it won't clog up your images or restores; and frees up space in your primary partition for more of your own files.

You may also find a related item of interest: "A Little Extra Privacy: Clear the Swapfile" ( http://langa.com/newsletters/2004/2004-03-29.htm#3 ).

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5) "Graphics Debris"

Dear Fred: Only recently after I took a trip to three Western states have I dabbled into digital photography.

I guess I got jealous after seeing the great photos you took in Newfoundland last year.

I am using NewSoft Photo 3 suite and Google's Picasa to burn CD's for my family.

During my reorganization of files and folders I started using the SEARCH system in my Windows XP and acquired system and hidden files I found a treasure trove of BMP graphic files, even after using the great Jv16 Registry Cleaner, which by the way I heartily recommend.

These BMP files are a lot of leftover junk from previous files, of course in the mix there are a lot of system graphic files which are needed by the system.

My question are there any programs available that would get rid of the leftover graphic files without touching the required system files ?

Taking them out one by one would be my only other solution.

Thank you for a great technical and personal newsletter. ---Jorge Tamarit

A lower-resolution version of the photo journal--- available to all--- is at:
http://freetune.com/extras/newfoundland2005/newfoundland2005.htm

A much higher-resolution version is available to Plus! edition subscribers:
http://www.langalist.com/Plus/extras/newfoundland/newfoundland2005.asp

As for Jorge's question: If you just go a little further in using the standard Windows Search function (Start/Search), you probably can get things sorted the way you need.

First, as you've probably already done, use Start/Search and select "Pictures, music or video." Select "Use advanced search options" when it's offered, and then select "more advanced options." Make sure "system folders" and "hidden files/folders" are selected, as well as "search subfolders." Higher in the settings pane, set "Look In" for your main drive (usually C:) and select " pictures and photos" as the file type; or use the "part of file name" option to specify bmp, gif, png, jpg, etc.

Once the search completes, go to the menu bar, and click "View/Details." Next, click the "in folder" portion of the menu bar to sort the list according to where the files were found on the hard drive. Most of the files required by the operating system will be located in operating system folders, such as \Windows\ and its subfolders. You likewise can get a pretty good idea of what the other graphics belong to from their location. If you're not sure what any given graphics file is, you can toggle back to View/thumbnails to see a small version of the image in question.

BTW, if you've made a full backup or image, you can feel free to delete almost *any* file on your drive, especially lower-priority files such as graphics. If it turns out that you or your software needs a file you deleted, simply restore it from the backup or image.

BTW#2: If you have any trouble "seeing" files in your system folders, see "Hidden File Problems" in http://www.langalist.com/Plus/newsletters/2006/2006-01-09plus.asp .

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6) Is This Newsletter Interesting? Useful?

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://langa.com/recommend.htm . Thanks for recommending the LangaList--- and good luck!

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7) Upgrade Or Fresh Install?

Fred, Just became a Plus subscriber this year and I really enjoy your writings and appreciate all the information shared.
 
My issue is with packaged software upgrades.  I feel that most companies treat me as a second-class citizen... that is offering me upgrades to the newest version at a "special" upgrade price, only to later see the same software available at some retailer as "Free", after, of course, applying all of the rebates.  Anyway, I just wanted to vent about this crummy policy and ask the vendors to take better care of their existing customers.  
 
NOW, for my actual question -- Is there any save way to tell / know if the prior version of the software should be uninstalled first before the upgrade is applied?  Of course, the best software installs detect prior versions and take the correct action, but many do not and you either: 1) Have two copies of the software listed in your Windows Add/Remove Programs list; or 2) You uninstall the prior version unnecessarily, thus loosing your default settings, or worse yet, the upgrade won't apply because you removed the prior version.  No vendors instructions seem to deal with issue well.  (As an example, I use McAfee Virusscan, bought the latest version, but had to contact the support team to determine that the prior version should be uninstalled before the new version is installed -- why don't they just tell you in the instructions?) Any wisdom you might share on this issue? Best regards, Rob Clucas

The safest thing is always to uninstall the previous version; that ensures that none of the old software gets carried over to the new version. The only time this approach may work against you is with software that you've heavily customized or altered. Even here, better software will give you the option of retaining the customizations or settings when you uninstall the old version; the new version will then install into the same location and "pick up" the previous settings.

But even when software doesn't do that, the hassles of reconstructing settings are usually less than the hassles of living with an instable installation; it's usually better to start fresh, with a clean install, when you can.

(And BTW, like you, I also dislike the approaches used by some vendors that reward the newest customers, and penalize the longer-term ones. That's one of the reasons why my Plus! subscriptions work the opposite way: My costs are highest with a new subscriber--- setting up the subscription, adding the info to the database, etc. But processing a renewal is easier, and that's why I offer renewing subscribers a discount below the already-low new-subscription rates. No one gets penalized; and long-term subscribers get a little extra discount.)

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8) Code Load Success Story

After his site was listed in a recent "Load The Code" section, code-loader Brendon Connelly wrote:

Fred-- Thanks for including Slacker Manager ( http://slackermanager.com ) in your newsletters! That inclusion doubled my previous high visitor count. Forget the 'Slashdot effect' this is the 'LangaList effect'! Thanks again. ---Brendon Connelly

Do you have a home page or website? (It doesn't matter what size.) Please click over to http://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://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
http://langa.com/randomlink.htm

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

Ask the Geek
http://askthegeek.kennyhart.com/

Inksnapper
http://www.inksnapper.com/index.jsp

Age of Empires III
http://age-of-empires-iii.blogspot.com/

Your Free Directory
http://www.yourfreedirectory.com/

Fragile X
http://mc2.vicnet.net.au/home/hihowru/web/index.html

Granite Bluff.com Landscaping & Home Improvement
http://www.granitebluff.com/

Michigan Tavern
http://www.michigantavern.com/

Precision Kitchen and Bath, TX
http://precisionkitchenandbathllc.com/

Best Movie Sites
http://www.allsitecafe.com/hollywood.html

Computer Help Brisbane
http://computer-help-brisbane.blogspot.com/

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--- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList S.E. Free! ) ---

"Awesome Plus! newsletter - well worth the subscription price.
Keep up the great work." --Don Blair

The Plus! edition is just pennies an issue--- around $1 a month--- but that
small amount is what keeps Langa.Com and this newsletter afloat.

And it comes with a no-quibble
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You can't lose!

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9) (K)ubunto/u

Yes, that looks like a confusing title, but here's why:

Hi Fred, I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and best wishes for a New Year and I'm looking forward to another great year with your Plus Newsletter. I don't recall seeing any discussion regarding a linux distro called Ubunto. I'm trying it and it seems to be very user-friendly. I've even got my printer to work which I couldn't do with Mandrake, Xandros, Arklinux or Knoppix. The Forums are a great help as well! Best regards, Roberto J Silos III

Thanks, Roberto. We did mention it once before ( http://www.google.com/search?as_q=ubuntu&as_sitesearch=langa.com ), but this distribution of Linux illustrates one of the increasingly frustrating aspects of dealing with that OS: There's Ubuntu, Ubunto, Kubuntu and Kubunto--- and probably others, too.

http://www.google.com/search?q=Ubuntu
http://www.google.com/search?q=Ubunto
http://www.google.com/search?q=kubunto
http://www.google.com/search?q=kubuntu

Linux keeps getting more and more balkanized. At some point, this sort of thing ceases to be cute or fun, and is just a PITA to keep track of. Sigh.

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10, 11, 12, 13) Plus! Edition Highlights:

• LangaList Complete Archives Updated!
• How To Update Your Current Copy Of The Archives...
• Or Get A Full, Fresh Copy Of The Archives...
• Alternate Way To Get A Full Copy Of The Archives

All the LangaLists ever published (from 1997 through December 2005) are now available for you right at your fingertips, packaged as a space-saving highly-compressed Windows Help File that can be self-searched using the Windows Help Engine's standard (and familiar) interface. No more going online for partial searches of the LangaList's past content: Instead, with the Archives right on your hard drive, it'll take only seconds to find whatever you're looking for, no matter how long ago it was published in any version of the LangaList!

And again, unlike the online search tools at Langa.Com, the Helpfile Archives contains both the standard and Plus content--- everything--- all in one place!

These archives are available FREE to Plus! edition subscribers, and are updated every 90 days or so--- just one of the many benefits of subscribing.

It's not too late to get your own copy of the archives. And it costs only pennies per issue to join! Sign up today!

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

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14) Just For Grins

Hi Fred, This photo shop site has so many fun and unusual photo compilations I thought it might make a good entry for "Just for Grins". As ever, thanks for all you do for us. --- C Wilson
http://www.worth1000.com/galleries.asp

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(Give a gift subscription to the LangaList Plus edition!
Click <a href= " http://langa.com/plus_gift.htm ">here</a>)

The LangaList is published about 72 times a year, or about 6 times a month. See you next issue, 2006-01-16!

Best,

Fred
( Editor@Langa.Com )

Please recommend the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win a prize!)

An easier-to read formatted HTML version is available in the "Current Issue" section of http://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.

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