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The LangaList
A free email newsletter about
BrowserTune, HotSpots, Columns, and other activities
from Fred Langa
1-11-97
Back Online!
It's good be be back online with the LangaList after the two-week hiatus for the
Holidays. To each and every one of you--- Happy New Year!
I wasn't goofing off for the last couple weeks. 8-) There's a lot going on,
as you'll see below! Because two weeks have passed since the last issue (which
was a double issue), this is also longer than normal because there's so much to
cover.
Sneak Preview---just for LangaList
subscribers!
Cross your fingers--- this month, WINDOWS Magazine is scheduled to move its web
server across the country. The new server has been burned-in in WinMag's NY
offices, but it's always a little harrowing when you unplug everything, pack it
up, and consign it to a shipper. But with luck, the new server will be up and
running soon, and with wider bandwidth and better reliability than ever.
This affects BrowserTune, HotSpots, and all my content on
the WinMag site in a major way. Some of those pages have been on the WinMag
servers since 1995---from the very earliest days of the web explosion. They
needed a major weed-whacking and freshening.
I've built all-new versions of HotSpots, BrowserTune Classic,
BrowserTune97, and a pile of related pages; everything is done in
FrontPage98 (the early section of my portions of the WinMagWeb were done in
plain old Notepad!) and makes use of a number of advanced FP98 features to
provide new services---including some you've asked for.
For example, there are (honest!) close to 10,000 previous HotSpots
and Readers Choice URLs in the "Hall of Fame" archives, and
getting to them was pretty ugly. When I first started the HotSpots, I had no
clue that three years later it'd still be among the most popular features of the
WinMag site with well over 3 million visitors.
But FrontPage lets me offer you a self-generating Table of Contents
and local search (confined just to the archives). This means that you can search
for any hotspots on any given day; search for all or part of any URL; and for
recent HotSpots, search on descriptions. You also can view the entire Hall of
Table as a Table of Contents and see exactly what HotSpots you've visited and
what you haven't visited using standard web visited- and unvisited-link color
coding.
It's very cool. I've recoded and streamlined everything
in the /flanga section of the WinMagWeb, and should have it live online this
week, depending on how the WinMag server move goes.
But you can get a sneak preview right now! I have several
sections of the new pages running in secret, unpublicized sections of langa.com;
I built the pages locally but wanted to post them to a normal, full-blown web
server to ensure everything was working OK. Not every link is working yet, but
you'll get the idea. If you'd like a private, sneak preview of the new pages,
here are the URLs:
All-New HotSpot "Hall Of Fame" Archives: http://www.browsertune.com/archives/
New HotSpots Page (new coding--- new look and feel to come): http://www.browsertune.com/flanga/hotspots.htm
or try http://www.browsertune.com/flanga/
BrowserTune Classic: http://www.browsertune.com/btclassic/
BT97 is converted, but I haven't had a chance to post it to langa.com yet.
BrowserTune98
Is coming along nicely---a lot of the internal
plumbing needed the rest of the pages (above) to be completed first. Things are progressing
very fast now, and you should have a beta version available in the next
few weeks.
Netscape Weirdness
In the course of preparing BT98 pages, I've
uncovered some strange behaviors in Netscape Communicator 4.04.
(In previous issues of the LangaList, I've focused on IE4 problems, so I guess
it's fitting that I pick on Netscape for a while. 8-) )
For one thing, Communicator has trouble with tables!
Many of the CMPnet pages use a complex tabular layout---actually tables within
tables within tables. Communicator can't handle it.
IE 3 and 4 show the complex tables fine. Curiously Communicator's
built-in HTML editor shows the pages fine. But even though the
Communicator editor handles the tables, Communicator's active browser chokes on
narrow border cells and does not display them properly; they vanish. As a
result, much of CMPnet has resorted to using a background image to provide the
bordered navigation bar, with other tables laid-in on top of the faux-table
background. I've ended up having to do the same thing on my new pages in order
to ensure that Communicator will display things properly.
I wasted several days in coding---I assumed my code was wrong,
or FrontPage was buggy, or something else was wrong on my end before I finally
realized that Communicator just can't reliably handle complex tables with very
thin cells. What a pain.
Another Netscape Weirdness
There's another seemingly-simple function Communicator
4.04 can't handle: HTML comments.
Comments are used by HTML authors for a variety of functions.
The comments don't show up in the displayed page, but are supposed to show up
when you "view source" on a web page---that's the whole idea: when you
"view source" you see the author's comments.
Communicator handles comments fine unless you place the
comment within a pair of paragraph tags. If you use the paragraph tags around a
comment, Communicator's "view source" function will show you only the
paragraph tags, but then hide the actual comment.
Now, Comments do not require paragraph tags,
and I'll bet you the cost of a lunch that the Netscape programmers never use
paragraph tags on their comments. And you'd probably never manually add the tags
to a manually-added Comment. But many HTML editors (including FrontPage) tag
every page element for visual neatness and consistency of the source code. A
Comment is a separate page element (albeit an invisible one) so it gets its own
paragraph tags--- which makes the comment invisible to Communicator!
I wasted still more time trying to figure this one out---one
BrowserTune test relies on Comments to let you complete the test. But the
comments would be invisible to Communicator 4.04 users. Sheesh!
You'll see working examples of these problems in BT98. Stay
tuned!
Do You Build Web Pages?
I'm still looking for great, eye-popping examples of advanced browser features
or functions for BrowserTune--- things such as Layers, DHTML, great
scripting, or whatever. If you've built something you're very proud of,
drop me a note (at fred@langa.com) with a
pointer to the page, or attach a sample page to the email. If I can use your
page as the basis of a test or example, I'll give you credit, on-screen, in the
final version of BrowserTune98---millions of people will see your work! 8-)
And to those of you who have sent in samples and URLs---thanks! Keep 'em
coming!
HotSpots
HotSpots are running normally with a new, interesting site posted every
day. Preview descriptions will return next week. And with them, a new
description format will help you search for past formats with more ease and
accuracy than ever before. Stay tuned--- and meanwhile, please check out the
HotSpots each day. Over three million people have visited the
HotSpots site, so something good's going on there. 8-)
Always Looking for More HotSpots!
The HotSpots mailbox is always open! Whenever you find a great
site, could you take a second and tell me about it? It'd just take a minute---
email your favorite URLs to hotspots@langa.com.
No explanation is needed---just paste the raw URLs into the body of the mail
message, ideally, 1 URL per line. I'll sift through them and queue 'em up for
possible inclusion as future HotSpot. Thanks!
WINDOWS Magazine Online Forums
The WinMag BBS/Forums went into reruns for
the Holidays, but should be back next week with brand-new content. Starting
Monday 1/12 and running all week, you'll see a column from me that was sparked
by a request from WinMag editor Mike Elgan. Mike was looking for input on
"Why Good People Buy Bad Laptops."
Mike already knows a lot about notebooks: When I was at WinMag, Mike and I
were both Platinum-level frequent fliers spending a fair chunk of each year on
the road, in the air, and living out of hotel rooms. We both absolutely depended
on our portable PCs not as a luxury or executive toy, but as an essential
lifeline back to the office, to email, and to the web; and as a way to stay
productive during otherwise dead time.
In short, our jobs depended on our laptops and we came to know---and
sometimes love, sometimes hate---many brands and models we used over the years.
So, when Mike asked me for input for his editorial, I was happy to reply. The
column is actually my reply to Mike, and also is a chance for you to
tell Mike and me what you like and dislike about the current crop of
portable PC---from tiny handheld units up to the huge and heavy "desktop
replacement" units. 8-) I'll tell you which ones I like, and which ones I
don't! Join
in!
CMPnet's LangaLetter
Fred Eats Crow: Sunday through Wednesday, last week's discussion
is wrapping up. In it, I tell you what I predicted a year ago would be the
"top ten technologies" for 1997. It's Reality-Check time---dig out
your scorecards,check my list, and tell me where my crystal ball was clean, and
where it was hopelessly cloudy! 8-)
Starting Wednesday: Does
“Intel Inside” Matter? I depend on my PCs for my livelihood.
That ol’ FUD factor-Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt---made me hesitant to try
anything other than genuine Intel CPUs. What if a non-Intel CPU had some subtle
internal weirdness that hosed my work? Well, I've been using AMD, Cyrix and
Centaur CPUs alongside standard-issue Intel chips. I'll tell how how it's gone,
and whether FUD is a factor anymore.
Other Writing
I'm doing a review this week for CMP's VarBusiness Magazine; I'll be comparing
DragonSystems' new NaturallySpeaking Deluxe to IBM's new ViaVoice
Gold; and separately, reviewing the new version of Norton
Utilities. If you have opinions, tips, tricks, warnings or praise for
any of these programs, please drop me a note at fred@langa.com
.
Reader Mailbox
I get hundreds of emails day, many from readers of the
LangaList. Although I can't answer them all, I do read each and every
one.They're often fascinating---I learn a lot from people like you! Others are
funny, informative, or just plain nice to read. Some letters are interesting for
the tech content, some interesting for the personalities they show, some for
where the writers are located---or all the above! Here are just a few; a
potpourri of recent email:
==============================
Win98 Preview Program
From: Scott Blitstein <ScottB@elektek.com>
Subject: Windows 98 Preview
Fred,
Just received an email from Microsoft offering me a preview of Win 98
Beta 3 for the low price of $29.95. Check out
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/promo/win98preview
. Figured you
probably have heard about it but if not, thought I might give you the
scoop.
Scott Blitstein
scottb@elektek.com
[Note from Fred: It's a closed,
invitation-only preview, BTW... 8-( ]
===============================
Freeware/Shareware Recommendation
From: Betsy Freeman <bfreeman@gsaix2.cc.GaSoU.EDU>
To: Fred Langa <fred@langa.com>
Subject: Nifty Apps
In response to your request to share helpful apps:
1. I've been using "The Terminator" (information below) to use my own
browser (Netscape Comm 4.03 ) on AOL since last March. It's
shareware, but it's well worth the $5 lifetime registration fee. I've
stayed on AOL using my Netscape browser and downloading long files for
four- and five-hour stretches; the Terminator always intercepts the AOL
nag screens and keeps me online. Here's the author's description:
"The Terminator
by C. Kevin Garrison (TPA KC)
© 1997 TPA Software
This version of The Terminator will work with Windows 3.x and 95 and is
compatible with AOL software versions 2.5 and up. This includes AOL 3.0
for Windows 3.x AND Windows 95.
The Terminator is the ultimate and definitive watchdog for staying
connected to America Online. This simple little program sit at the top
of your AOL Window and watches for the "You have been idle" window and
the 46 minute nag window that AOL will throw at you to try and knock you
offline. The Terminator will not stop these windows, but it will answer
them for you in case you happen to be away from your computer during a
long download, or if you are playing a game that requires your full
attention.
The Terminator has two options. One will allow you to halt the watchdog
process...The other option will display a message box of how many kills the
Terminator has made for each specific log off window."
2. Another app I use all the time is NetLaunch (freeware), as described
below by the author:
"NetLaunch is a very small system tray application that can
significantly
enhance the Windows Dial-Up Networking (DUN) services. ...
The goal in writing this application was to develop a program that could
do the following:
· Monitor Dial-Up Networking connections and disconnections
· Launch and close applications when a connect or disconnect
occurs
· Provide easy yet powerful scheduling, to make and break
connections
· Provide a method to bypass the "Connect To"
dialog box, redial a
disconnected session, and enhance the DUN error dialogs.
NetLaunch is unique in a great many ways. First, it is the smallest of
any of the utils that perform the same comparative functions....
NetLaunch also gives you a much easier and simplified interface, while
allowing you maximum power. There are no limitations to the number of
Dial-Up connections you may configure, no limits to the number of
applications NetLaunch can run/close, and no limitations to the number
of schedules you may configure for each DUN connection. In addition, no
other utility offers the kind of application closing features that
NetLaunch offers. E-Mail programs can be closed "nicely" so you don't
lose e-mail if disconnected, and other background programs like FTP
servers or Finger servers can be closed more forcefully to get around
annoying "Are you sure?" prompts.
Finally, NetLaunch is free!...
If you would like to be informed about future updates and upgrades to
this product, or have suggestions or comments, please feel free to send
me some e-mail!
mailto:simpson@primenet.com
http://www.primenet.com/~simpson
UIN 627844"
Sorry this message is so long but thought it easier to paste in the
authors' own descriptions. I really enjoy your newsletter and the column
in Windows. I've spent more hours than I'd like to admit in the Hot
Spots archives and, of course, on these various sites. I've just started
reading the message area at the WinMag BBS and find myself spending too
much time here, too! Thanks for all the wonderful and practical info! I
followed your advice and used the ATI patch yesterday; I noticed an
immediate difference. I have an ATI 3D Xpression PCI. I check once a
week or so for all driver and system updates, but there's no new driver
for the ATI device.
Betsy Freeman
bfreeman@gsaix2.cc.gasou.edu (or betsyf5423@aol.com)
==============================
A "Nifty App"
From: "Kenneth Holley" <KHolley@infsysint.com>
Hi Fred,
I don't recall you or WinMag having written about this nifty little app
(course, I may have missed it!), but I love it! I am using the ZppA and
couldn't be happier...well, maybe I could be if they would write it for,
say, the Syquest SparQ or the Iomega Jaz...but happy nonetheless! I've
loaded Win95 on a Zip disk and Linux on another...allows me to try out
software products without messing anything up...it's just wonderful!
Here's the link:
http://www.blueskyinnovations.com/
If you haven't written about it, perhaps you could give it, and the company,
a little coverage. Not only is it a great product, but Blue Sky's support
is very good...that goes a loooooooooong way!
Take care!
Kenneth Holley
KHolley@infsysint.com
==============================
Aptiva Help: IBM Mwave Card Problems
From: Rachel Jacklyn Bilodeau <rjbilodeau@imailbox.com>
Hi Fred,
I love your newsletter. You have grown so fast exponentially, I should say, in
such a short time.
I happen to have an Aptiva series 2168 and have been having
problems with my Mwave card - I am sure you have heard of
similar cases where midi files cannot be heard on the net if
you are using the modem at the same time. Or you would get
the message "MMsystem003 Driver not enabled" or you would
have performed another illegal operation.
This problem is, I hope, finally solved.
You can now download updated drivers from IBM and an update
fix file after you have installed the drivers - I have done
all that, with difficulty, but I can now say that I am
immensely pleased.
the site address for the IBM MWave card problem is:
http://www.geocities.com/soho/gallery/6884/ibm.html
.
Bye Bye
Rachel Jacklyn Bilodeau
==============================
A strong opinion
From: "Joshua William Farr" <joshua-farr@usa.net>
If the little companies can't hack it then get out of the game...this is what it
is all about boys--- competition.
Netscape is a browser that lacks in stability and further more if Netscape wants
to improve browser sales than start making it worthwhile to have the browser.
Why is everyone hell-bent on getting rid of Microsoft...it is one of the
greatest software companies around. They didn't get there overnight, and the
only reason their software is beating out others is because maybe they use a
little elbow grease to make it.
Point and fact...the government must get their greedy little hands on
everything. Personally I can't wait until Janet Reno is out of there.
Bottom line the integration of MSIE is just and if people don't like it they
don't have to buy it now do they....That is just like telling me I can't watch
HBO because you think the violent movies might turn me into a killer. That is
the funny thing about this because you have the option to change the channel,
and if you don't like it so be it but don't tell me I can't watch what I want
because someone doesn't like it. MSIE is easy to remove and the shared files
within do not need to be remove but because the court is so stupid I have a
feeling they will screw this up and there will be no DOJ after this. They don't
need to be wasting our tax dollars on this or our court system. Government has
screwed the public again!
Publish this if you wish.
==============================
Keep those emails coming---it's great to hear from you!
See you next week!
Fred
(fred@langa.com)
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