|
PureBytes Links
Trading Reference Links
|
Here is a third part input from a computer club named Channel Islands PC
Users Group.
John Sellers
"CIPCUG E-Letter: September 12, 2000 Vol. 3.03
============== Table of Contents
Windows ME
iFilm
Passport Security Risks
Repair IExplorer
More Repair IExplorer
CueCat
Cleaning Up Your Computer
Sandra
Subscription Information
============== Windows ME
Amid less hoopla than any other operating system in recent memory, Microsoft
has released Windows Millennium Edition (WinME). No one knows why Microsoft
decided that WinME is an
update to Win98, while Win2000 is an update to WinNT. It makes zero logical
sense. But Microsoft says it is so, so get used to it.
So, what is new in WinME? In actuality, not that much. The major changes
have to do with multimedia (most of which you can install into Win98 off the
Microsoft web site). You can have Windows Explorer show directories as
thumbnails, so if you have a lot of pictures you can preview them all at
once. If you do much with graphics, this is really nice -- although you
probably do the same thing already with shareware. What you may not have,
however, are the other tools: video editing, sound recording and editing,
ability to arrange the graphic files in a directory into a slide show, etc.
If you are really hooked on video and sound, you'll want WinME. And now you
know what you can do with the latest 50 gig hard drives.
The other item that should help a lot of Windows users is the protection
features. Programs like AOL that replace Windows files with their own
versions will no longer install. WinME will not let anyone change Windows
files. If you accidentally (or purposely) delete one of the critical .dll
files, WinME will regenerate it on the fly. This is a truly major
improvement in keeping your Windows installation stable over time. And if
something does manage to mangle your Registry, you can use RollBack to
restore it to its pristine state.
Does this mean you should upgrade from your existing Win98? Probably not.
Most home users aren't deeply enough into multimedia to make the aggravation
worth it. Upgrading any
operating system involves quite a bit of work, so you want to make sure you
get enough out of the effort to make it worthwhile.
However, if you want to do a lot more multimedia, it will be easier, cheaper
and better to upgrade to WinME than to install several shareware/boxware
programs and get them all working smoothly together. And if you are having
difficulties with a mangled Windows
setup, it may well be worth trying an upgrade. We have tried it several
times and it has worked about half the time.
Do be careful with upgrading an existing computer right now. Quite a few
vendors haven't released updated drivers yet. We have been unable to get an
older CD-RW to work with WinME and others are reporting similar experiences.
There will be updated drivers released for most reasonably current hardware,
but it may take a month or two.
============== iFilm
I almost never tout entertainment sites on the net, but I found something so
extraordinary I thought many of you might appreciate the plug. IFilm is a
site that lets would-be filmmakers upload videos onto their site where you
can download and view them. Most are
fairly amateurish, but is so engrossing that you may want to take a look.
Go to the iFilm site and then click on "405" (without the quotes), then Play
and you'll see a 3 minute video of a 747 airplane making an emergency
landing on the 405 freeway -- and landing on
top of a SUV. The special effects are equal to anything at your local
cinema.
http://www.ifilm.com/
============== Passport Security Risks
If you have a Hotmail account, you also have a Microsoft passport. I have
several Hotmail accounts and have been blithely using them for convenience,
but now I'm having second thoughts. If you have a Hotmail account, or if
you are thinking of getting one, I urge you to read the privacy/security
issues raised by a former Microsoft employee, Joel Spolsky.
If you are concerned about cookies, be aware that a Passport is cookies on
steroids. I'll probably continue using Passports, but I am certainly not
going to input my Social Security Number, MasterCard accounts, etc. as they
suggest I do. You will probably not be able to unregister your Passport, so
before you give Microsoft any more information about yourself, please take a
look at:
http://joel.editthispage.com/stories/storyReader$139
============== Repair IExplorer
>From Fred Langa (www.langa.com):
There is a way to repair mangled Internet Explorers that frequently works
when nothing else will, but is so non-intuitive that hardly anyone will ever
find it -- especially when they need it in a hurry.
Go to Control Panel and click on Add/Remove Programs, and then "Microsoft
Internet Explorer 5.x." or similar.
Click on "Add/Remove." and you'll be given the opportunity to repair the
existing installation or revert to a previous one. For any other program,
clicking on Add/Remove will remove it. Why the repair tool is hidden here
is known only to Microsoft.
http://www.portablelife.com/tips/story/0,1091,2516,00.html
============== More Repair IExplorer
Tech tip from Ventura County Computers partner Rick Smith:
Several times lately we have received computers for repair which whenever
you click on Internet Explorer you receive the following: "This program has
performed an illegal operation and will be shut down." When you click on
Details, you see: "IEXPLORE caused
an invalid page fault in SHELL32.DLL." There appears to be no way to get
Explorer to run.
The fix involves editing the Registry, which is recommended only for expert
users. Go to Start, Run and type in Regedit. Click on File, Save As, give
the backup a name (I recommend using a date-related name like SEP1500) and
save a copy of the Registry to a
location you will be able to remember in an emergency. Next open the
HKEY_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main if you click on
the + in front of each item, you'll see the subitems open up beneath).
Double click on the Search Bar entry and delete
the entry. For some reason what you'll usually see here is "www.yahoo.com."
As long as you empty the value and exit, Internet Explorer should return to
health. Handy to know, as this one bit my computer and Rick gave me the fix
so I could get up and running in about 5 minutes.
============== CueCat
By now, most of you have probably heard about the CueCat, that piece of
hardware that is being given out by the millions at Radio Shack and other
locations. They want you to install the hardware and software and then
register it. Once you do this, you will be able
to scan special (read "non-standard") Cue codes in ads, magazines, business
cards, etc. so you can go directly to that site.
Understand: You install hardware, software and register the product just so
you don't have to type www.vccomputers.com ? Pretty silly, when you think
of it.
Worse, the darn things aren't that reliable. Several sources have found
that they work better when you scan right-to-left.
Unfortunately, there is even worse news. You have to impart a considerable
about of private information when you register, and the company knows every
time you scan a site. They are amassing quite a bit of information - and it
has already been hacked once. There are privacy groups who are really upset
about the CueCat. I don't like the privacy issues too much, but a poorly
working device to do a trivial task just doesn't seem like so
mething I want to hang on my computer anyway.
============== Cleaning Up Your Computer
By now, most of you know that Fred Langa is one of my favorite online
sources. He does excellent work. But his latest is fabulous. He has run a
series on cleaning up your computer, the latest pages of which are at
http://www.langa.com/cleanup_bat.htm
http://www.langa.com/wipetif_bat.htm
http://www.langa.com/cleanall_bat.htm
Be very careful to follow the instructions thoroughly. Messing with the
Windows Registry and deleting files is always a risky business. Fred has
tried to make it completely safe, but ONLY if you follow instructions.
With these tools, you can clean up all your temporary and backup files --
including junk in your Internet cache, outdated cookies and files you
haven't accessed in years, compact your Registry and automate the process so
you can do it repetitively. Most of the tools are straight DOS tools and
the descriptions are so clear it may well be the best DOS lesson you ever
took. There's lots of stuff in there I had never seen before. He even has
a Registry
modification (for the more adventuresome amongst you) which will tell
Windows to clean up all the these same temp files every time you empty the
Recycle Bin.
While these articles may be a bit "techy" for beginners, I urge you to spend
some time on them, even if you decide not to actually run any of the tools.
People of every skill level will learn something.
============== Sandra
Sandra is the System Analyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant, which is
mouthful that simply means it will take a look at your computer
(Win95/98/ME) and give you a report on what hardware, software and devices
you are running -- much of which is undocumented and not available with
normal Windows tools. And since the regular version of Sandra is free, you
can save the pennies you were going to spend on Norton SI or WinProbe.
http://www.sisoftware.demon.co.uk/common/what.htm
============== Subscription Information
Please forward to as many friends as you think might be interested. You may
forward as many copies as you wish (please do not spam strangers, however).
This E-Letter may be freely reproduced either in part or in its entirety,
for commercial or non-commercial uses so long as the following paragraph is
included:
Copyright 2000 by Toby Scott and Ventura County Computers for the Channel
Islands PC Users Group, reprinted with permission. Anyone may subscribe to
the monthly E-Letter. Simply send a blank e-mail message to
support@xxxxxxxxxx with the subject of "subscribe."
To unsubscribe, send to the same location with the subject "unsubscribe."
Membership information for CIPCUG is available at
http://www.cipcug.org/history.cfm#MEMB
Back issues of the E-Letter are available from
http://www.vccomputers.com/ELetter.cfm
Inquiries are welcome at: Ventura County Computers 2175 Goodyear Avenue Unit
117 Ventura, CA 93003 (805) 289-3960
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-metastock@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:owner-metastock@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Guy Tann
Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2000 1:42 PM
To: metastock@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: Windows me vs Windows 2000"
End of Quote
Lionel,
Let me know what you discover. I have both W2K Professional and WinMe here
in boxes and have been waiting to install them.
Thanks,
Guy
Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be
changed regularly and for the same reason.
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-metastock@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-metastock@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On
Behalf Of Lionel Issen
Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2000 10:52 AM
To: metastock@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Windows me vs Windows 2000
What are the relative advantages/disadvantages of Win ME vs Win 2000. I am
presently using Win 98 2nd edition.
Lionel Issen
lissen@xxxxxxxxx
|