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(This is an HTML version of the LangaList. The
content is identical The LangaList A Free Email Newsletter from Fred Langa About BrowserTune, HotSpots, Columns, Tips&Tricks, and Other Activities 22-Feb-98 [NOTE: Fred is currently relocating from New York to New
Hampshire BrowserTune98 Beta
Is Hot! I've been fine-tuning various pages and changing the wording here and there where some users found things confusing. I'm happy to report there've been very few coding errors to correct. 8-) But some interesting patterns have emerged from these very early tests. For example, it appears that many--- and I mean many---people are running misinstalled or misconfigured browsers, especially IE4. Part of the purpose of BT98 is to help you detect and correct that kind of problem, but I'm amazed at how often it's coming up. In fact, it's so common, I've reworked the first few pages of BT98 specifically to address IE4 misconfiguration. (See next item.)
If you want to know if you have a problem, try BrowserTune98. If you do have
trouble, the simple fix is to uninstall and then reinstall IE4. That's the
safest, best, and surest fix.
Several readers helped me find the fix. Thanks to you all--- especially Tom Starner, who was first. More IE4 Tips and Tricks Another reader, Don Edwards, sent me a tip that got me digging in the Windows directory of my IE4 system: You probably already know that anything you place in the /windows/start menu folder gets placed in the Start button menus; and that anything placed in the /windows/start menu/startup folder gets run automatically at startup. Well, Don pointed out to me that any shortcuts you place in the /windows/application data/microsoft/internet explorer/quick launch folder will appear as an icon on your taskbar alongside the icons for "Launch Outlook Express," "View Channels," "Show Desktop" and so on. It’s a cool way to customize IE4… and maybe to get some clutter off your desktop! I wish I’d thought of this tip a couple dozen shortcut icons ago. 8-) Thanks, Don! As we all explore IE4 (and Communicator!) in more and more depth, let’s all share what we learn. C’mon--- what are the tips and tricks you use to make IE4 work better? The full text of Don's tip is the seed for this week's Windows Magazine BBS column and discussion. The WinMag column will go live Monday, Feb 23 around noon Eastern time, (that's 1700 GMT, for our readers outside North America). Please check the WinMag home page (http://content.techweb.com/winmag//) for the link to the column as of about noon on Monday. Internet Explorer 5.0? Last week, I told you how Microsoft says it's "hard at work on the next version of IE" and is actively seeking feedback. I made this hypothetical "IE5.0" the subject of last week's CMPnet LangaLetter thread, and it's been setting volume records by attracting an outpouring of great, thoughtful suggestions--- and a few flames! The thread also has gotten the attention of folks at Microsoft; and the entire thread will be sent to Microsoft when it's done. The thread runs through Tuesday, so be sure to add your voice and tell Microsoft what's right and wrong with IE4 at http://www.langa.com/badlink.htm. Fair Play: What Right and Wrong with Netscape Browsers? Starting Wednesday, this week's CMPnet LangaLetter thread will focus on Microsoft's browser nemesis: What's right and wrong with Communicator? What can we suggest to Netscape to make their browser better--- and what should they avoid doing? Join in at http://www.langa.com/badlink.htm starting Wednesday. Win98 Consumer Beta If you have $30 to spare and don't mind running a beta OS (that is, if you have a really good backup system! 8-) ), Microsoft has announced a general consumer beta. The current betas of Win98 are pretty stable and should be representative of what the final product will be--- but they are beta. With any beta from any vendor, there's some extra level of risk because the software is, by definition, not finished yet. With that caveat in mind, if you still want to give it a spin, check out http://www.microsoft.com/windows/dailynews/022098.htm for the details. More Win95 Reinstall Tricks Remember the DELTREE trick we discussed a few weeks ago? Reader Doug Wilcox dug some info out of the Microsoft KnowledgeBase that details a no-reformat way to reinstall Win95 by wiping out the registry, DELTREEing the Profiles directory, and then reinstalling. It's intended as a way to restore Windows when the registry has become corrupted, but I think it would also work for other problems. Frankly, I think my way is simpler and safer. 8-) If you'd like to compare, my no-format reinstall is documented here: http://winweb.winmag.com/bbs/columns/archives/020198/monday/column.htm?frames=yesAnd the MS KnowledgeBase article (requires prior registration) is at: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q131/4/31.aspAnd More on Solving Hardware Hassles We also talked recently about how loose cards, cables, and socketed chips can the be source of mysterious-seeming hardware problems. I recommended that once a year or so, you pop the top on your PC and make sure everything's seated properly. (Even normal thermal expansion/contraction can slowly work things loose.) Several readers wrote in with follow-on tips--- such as flipping the power switch when the case is open to visually verify that the CPU (and other) fans are working. It's a good idea because thermal problems can cause random, unrepeatable errors that can drive you nuts trying to track down. (Of course all the normal caveats about working on sensitive electronic machinery pertain; you have to use caution when working on any energized electronic device.) Other readers wrote to suggest that when the case is open, it's a good time to grab a hand-vac to suck out the inevitable dust bunnies that collect at the air intakes of a PC; these, too, can cause thermal problems if the airflow is sufficiently reduced. And one reader wrote to suggest wiring a tiny, cheap LED in series with the CPU fan so you have an external indicator that power is flowing through the fan. That won't tell you if the fan is energized but seized, but it will let you know if the fan "burns out." If you're nervous about thermal protection, this is one approach. Of course you also can buy auxiliary fans and heat sensors and even thermal alarms if you want to. I prefer simply to pay attention to my PC: I know its sounds and I know how it's supposed to work. If a fan starts to sound different, for example, I know it's time to pop the case and take a look. In any case, these are all good ideas, and I thank Ron Martin, Adrian J de Bruynthe, and all the other readers who contributed them. Moving Day!The movers arrive midweek to start packing, and next weekend I hope to be in our new home. While that's mostly great news, it does mean I won't be able to publish a LangaList for a short while. I'll be back online ASAP, though, assuming my computers arrive in working order, my new office is ready for occupancy, my ISP sets me up correctly, Bell Atlantic gets the phone lines installed on schedule, and that everything works. 8-) One upside: the next LangaList you get will be from a new ISP; and I hope that will resolve the mail gateway problems that have caused some of you get get multiple copies of recent emails from me. I de-dupe the list every week---I don't send multiple copies--- but my ISP's mail gateway seems to hiccup from time to time. It'll be good to have a new ISP. But I have to get to New Hampshire first. Even as I type this, my Ditto drive is grinding away making multiple-duplicate backups of all my files (it takes a while; I have a total of about 20 Gigs of hard drive storage to back up...). And I'll personally box up all the PCs in their original cartons and packing materials to help ensure that everything arrives intact and with no data loss. Still, it's unnerving to see your entire livelihood going into boxes and into the hands of strangers. Ulp. For the interim, I'll be working from a laptop. (I really am paranoid: The laptop contains live copies of all my key files, so even if the moving van burns and my backup tapes are wiped out, I'll still have the laptop...8-) ) I'll use the laptop to keep the HotSpots page fresh throughout the move, and to write my online columns for WinMag and CMPnet for the week of March first. I'll write those columns during the next week, so I can't tell you what they'll be yet, but please keep checking in; I'll do my best to make them worth your time!
See you all soon! Fred(fred@langa.com) A live web version of this note is online in the "what's new" section of http://www.langa.com. Why are you getting this newsletter? My intention is to
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