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The LangaList

A Free Email Newsletter from Fred Langa
About BrowserTune, HotSpots, Columns, and Other Activities

15-Feb-98

BrowserTune98 Now Available!
Last Saturday, the BrowserTune98 beta shipped on schedule. It's ready for you now at http://content.techweb.com/winmag//bt98 .

Here's what the blurb says:

"BT98 thoroughly and safely tests close to 300 separate browser features and functions from the bedrock basics up to Dynamic HTML, Cascading Style Sheets, multimedia, streaming audio and video, Java, ActiveX/OCX, scripting, push "channels," applications- and desktop-integration, virus protection, data binding, security and more. (Whew!) BT98 also includes all the tests in BT97 (below)  but they’ve all been recoded and refreshed for better performance with today’s newest browsers. The structure of BT98 is radically improved, too, with far greater ease-of-use and freedom from interference from ad banners and other necessary components of a commercial web site.BrowserTune98 contains everything that BT97 contained, plus a lot more. Every page has been rewritten and recoded, and many totally new pages have been added."

There are about 114 major pages to BrowserTune98, but each major page typically calls anywhere from one to six separate (small) test pages. All the test pages run without ads and were hand-coded to avoid introducing any weirdnesses caused by web authoring tools.

When you add up everything, including all the support files and similar necessary (but invisible) housekeeping files, BT98 comprises 1511 files and occupies 6.7 megabytes of space. My carpal tunnels will never be the same.8-)

But despite that, BT98 runs faster and better, and tests far more than its predecessor. Check it out!

WinMag BBS Column
This week's WinMag BBS column is devoted to beta feedback on BT98. What works about the tests, what would you prefer done differently? Should some tests be expanded, or other eliminated?

BT98 is a tool for you; lots of BT features are a direct result of user feedback. So here's an opportunity to help shape BT98 to be exactly the kind of tool you're looking for. Please check it out, and then tell me what you think in the WinMag BBS area.

Because of the Holiday this week, the WinMag column will go on on Tuesday instead of Monday. Please check the WinMag home page (http://content.techweb.com/winmag//) for the link to the column as of about noon on Tuesday.

Internet Explorer 5.0?
I'm not the only one looking for feedback. I recently got email from a Microsoft representative telling me Microsoft is "hard at work on the next version of IE and would love to get some specific feedback from you on your personal experiences with IE 4.0 and IE 4.01 that Microsoft can take into consideration for making the next version better."

I answered the email, but I also thought it would be great to have an "open mike" event where anyone---perhaps you!---could speak your mind and tell Microsoft what's right and what's not right with IE4.

That's what this week's CMPnet LangaLetter is about. Starting Wednesday   Feb 18, join me at http://www.langa.com/badlink.htm to discuss what should---and should not--- be in the next version of IE.

Last Week's "Just for Fun" List of Freebies
I got that list in the mail; shortly after passing it on to you, I got another letter:

To: fred@langa.com
From: Marc McDonald <thoman1@ix.netcom.com>
Subject: Couple things

Hi, Fred,
I always enjoy your newsletter. But there's something I'd like to point out about your last issue. You ran a long list of freebies that "has been circulating around the
Internet for months." Actually, it looks to me like someone used the old "cut and paste"
on my site's "Free Samples" section to put together that list. This doesn't really bother me that much; what does bother me are the dozens of sites that have stolen all my content, word-for-word, including the metatags, reviews, and everything.

Anyway, I know you're a busy man. I just wanted to mention that it's long been quite shocking to me the way people steal my content, that I've often spent a great deal of time researching and writing. If my site isn't the Web's most pirated site, I'd like to know who is.

In any case, I'd like to get some recognition before my content appears on every nook and cranny of the Web. (I'm not exaggerating; if you'd like, I can send you a list of sites that've ripped me off----it's a 27K text file). If you could (and hopefully you're still reading this far) please consider my site for a HotSpot.

Name:The Free Site
URL: http://www.thefreesite.com

I apologize, Marc, and I hope this sets the record straight. (And your site is in the queue for a possible HotSpot!)

More Fixes for Broken Windows
The BBS thread on remedies when Windows goes belly-up was great and prompted a side discussion that might help you when all else fails.

This is a hardware thing: but every once in a while---maybe annually--- it's a good idea to pop the cover on your PC and reseat all the socketed chips cards, and cables.

As a system heats and cools, expansion/contraction can slowly work connections loose. Corrosion and dust also can be problems. Everything might look OK to the naked eye, but a tiny speck of oxide in the wrong place can cause hardware problems ranging from annoying to fatal.

To reseat chips, you just press gently but firmly on the top of the chip. With cards and cables, you unscrew or loosen any retainers, unseat, then carefully reseat the card or cable.

Some people like to gently clean card contacts with a soft eraser or with a substance like Stabilant, which helps ensure a good, corrosion-free contact.

Doing the above is good preventive medicine, and also can be a way to cure mysterious hardware problems that can't be fixed otherwise.

Reader Arun Shroff added this:

Good advice, Fred. One more very common problem - when you pop the cover check to see if your Pentium CPU's fan is working. You may never know this since in most cases the unit is off when you remove the cover. So turn the unit on with the cover open. In units that do have fans - they often go within a few months of use. Buy a new, ball-bearing type fan with a good heat-sink built-in. You will have to remove the CPU to change the fan. Running a 200MMX CPU with no fan is definite suicide.

Arun's right--- I've had system behave erratically until I got the CPU cooling right. So if your system's acting flaky and no software fix seems to help, consider the above as possible ways to make things right again.

Personal Note
Tomorrow (Monday) I'm heading to New Hampshire; on Tuesday, we'll sign the papers to acquire the house we found on the Internet. (See LangaList 18-Jan-98.) I'll be moving in about 2 weeks.

I get about 300 emails a day and do my best to keep up. If you do write and don't get a reply, please don't assume I'm not interested. It's just a little nuts around here right now. 8-) But soon the worst of the craziness will be over , the dust will settle and we'll be in our new home.

 

See you all next week!

Fred
(fred@langa.com)


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