PuterGeek.Com News
Issue # 56
ISSN: 1533-1938
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PuterGeek.Com News: ISSN: 1533-1938
Hello everyone!
() Comments and Rants from PuterGeek
While are ranks have been thinned a bit, those of you that remain will continue to get my own slant on things, tips that I receive from the subscriber base, articles of interest from all
the newsletters that I read.
Again, I do wish to apologize for the repeat newsletter. The cause behind it has been found and thanks to my Guru (Thank you Andy!), it can NOT happen again. The list itself was not
compromised in any way, so your privacy remains secure.
Thanks to all of you how felt the desire to show your support to me and the PuterGeek.Com News. For those of you who asked, a grand total of 27 people chose to unsubscribe because
they received a duplicate newsletter.
For those of you who are fairly new to the newsletter and the PuterGeek.Com website, please let me explain a few things...
This is not my job or career (yet). I am a long-haul truck driver who happens to have a website and a desire to help people. While I endeavor to do everything in a professional
manner, sometimes mistakes WILL happen! Some weeks the newsletter will go out twice, some months you may only receive two issues. It simply has to do with how much time I am able to
devote to all of this.
As I stated very plainly on this page
http://www.putergeek.com/newsletter/ the newsletter will NOT have a lot of original content. The
main focus of this newsletter is to supply you with (what I feel) the most important news and articles from all the various newsletters that I read. This way you don't have to subscribe to and
read many different newsletters. Each issue of Putergeek.Com News has articles from over 20-40 different issues of newsletters that I read.
When you first subscribed, I sent you an email asking you to read the above page, and if you still wanted the newsletter to please reply. At that time I then added you to the subscriber
list. While I value and want comments and feedback, please don't tell me I need to add more original content, or that I'm "stealing" other authors work! That offends me! Every
author is given credit for his content and I never "edit" their work! They have all been emailed and told what I am doing.... And to Quote Fred Langa on this subject,
"Sure, that's fine, and thank you for asking.
generally, taking sections of items in the newsletter is fine, especially
if you include a link to the full item (that way, we both gets hits)."
The above was sent to me on 10/18/99. When the Langalist Plus! came out I emailed MR. Langa again and asked what his wishes were in regards to quoting the Plus! version in my
newsletter. He replied asking me NOT to use Plus! articles here. I plan to honor his wishes here. If any other newsletter authors email me to say stop using their content, I will
ASAP.
If you find that you don't receive sufficient value from the PuterGeek.Com News newsletter, please unsubscribe.....but don't send me any HATE email. Life is too short for that. "Nuff
said here.
() New Poll
() Info from a Subscriber
G.P. sent me this and I decided you need to read about this!
"This may be of interest to your other readers.
Using JavaScript to collect information from an e-mail.....
The Privacy Foundation said that the exploit, which relies on JavaScript,
could affect users of Outlook/Outlook Express and Netscape Mail 6.0.
http://www.eweek.com/a/pcwt0102064/2682268/ "
Not only is this correct, but it is yet another very good reason to send email in "plain text". If you received such an HTML email, and chose to forward it to some friends, but forwarded
it in "plain text", it would *break* this JavaScript, since it could no longer execute. For more info about HTML vs. plain text please read
http://www.putergeek.com/email/ Thanks G.P.!
() Current News
() Microsoft Experiences More Problems
Wednesday, February 7, 2001 2:38PM EST
SEATTLE -- Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday admitted it experienced problems with the servers that handle the company's instant-messaging system, marking the latest in a series of problems with the
software giant's Internet-based services, the Associated Press reported.
Last week, company spokesman Adam Sohn repeatedly told The Seattle Post-Intelligencer he didn't know of any such problems with MSN Messenger, although the company later admitted there were some
consumer complaints.
But Sarah Lefko, project manager for MSN, said the Redmond, Wash.-based company had admitted to the problems late last week, although some people at Microsoft (MSFT) may not have been aware of
what was going on.
'We did tell folks that we had intermittent issues ... as soon as they inquired,' she said.
She said that the problem had been resolved by updating the server software.
() Microsoft judge's statements under scrutiny
WASHINGTON (AP) — The appeals court weighing Microsoft's antitrust case Tuesday invited lawyers on both sides to debate whether the federal judge who ordered the company's breakup made
inappropriate and biased comments in public. Last week, the software giant and the Justice Department agreed it was not necessary to bring up U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's extralegal
comments in oral arguments later this month. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia wants to talk about them, and allotted one hour to discuss them. Jackson made critical comments
about Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates as well as the appeals court during numerous interviews with reporters after the trial ended last summer.
for more click
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001-02-07-microsoft-trial.htm
() Microsoft names new Windows, office systems
By Dick Kelsey
February 07, 2001
Microsoft Inc. named names yesterday, revealing that its upcoming operating systems will be known as Windows XP and Office XP.
The two-letter tag stands for "experience" and is designed to symbolize Microsoft's push to blur the line between the use of personal computers and the Internet, thus improving the user
experience.
Windows XP, formerly code-named "Whistler," and Office XP, once coded "Office 10," are key steps in building Microsoft.NET, the company's Web technology platform. Microsoft.NET will use
extensible markup language (XML) to allow a variety of applications and devices to share data.
() Groundhog is lousy forecaster
ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (AP) -- Punxsutawney Phil is a lousy prognosticator, according to government statistics.
Every February 2 since 1887, watchers have checked to see if Phil could see his shadow, which would indicate six more weeks of winter.
But his predictions since 1988 haven't matched up to national temperatures, meteorologists at the National Climatic Data Center concluded.
"Phil showed no predictive skill during these years," said Tom Ross, a meteorologist with the center operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
() Now on with the good stuff
"Ever wonder about those people who spend $2.00 a
throw on those little bottles of Evian water? Try
spelling Evian backwards."
------------------------------------------------
7-UP was created in 1929. "7" was selected because the
original containers were 7 ounces. "UP" indicated the
direction of the bubbles.
Mosquito repellents don't repel. They hide you. The
spray blocks the mosquito's sensors so they don't know
you're there.
No piece of paper can be folded more than 7 times.
1 in every 4 Americans has appeared on television.
Oak trees do not produce acorns until they are fifty
years of age or older.
The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley's
gum.
The king of hearts is the only king without a
mustache.
A Boeing 747's wingspan is longer than the Wright
brother's first flight.
Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.
The first CD pressed in the US was Bruce Springsteen's
"Born in the USA."
Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you
up in the morning.
The 57 on the Heinz ketchup bottle represents the
number of varieties of pickles the company once had.
The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called
aglets.
Most dust particles in your house are made from dead
skin.
Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.
Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually
than all of the Nike factory workers in Malaysia
combined.
Marilyn Monroe had six toes.
Walt Disney was afraid of mice.
The sound of ET walking was made by someone squishing
her hands in jelly.
------------------------------------------------
Men can read smaller print than women; but women can
hear & smell better.
How to Call In Sick
A CD-ROM that tells you how to fake illness is selling like hotcakes in
Germany. The software profiles 15 medical conditions, with symptom details
and instructions on how to fake them.
Anthropologists Brave Silicon Valley
A group of anthropologists have bravely descended into the most savage
regions of Silicon Valley to live with and study the natives for fifteen
years. I've reported on this before. But recently I've learned that the
anthropologists, Jan English-Lueck and Charles Darrah, plan to finish two
books about the project later this year. The books will be called
"
Cultures@Silicon Valley" and "Remaking Everyday Life: The Hidden
Innovations in Silicon Valley."
http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/anthropology/svcp/SVCPover.html
Mike's List o' Crazy Gadgets
The AlphaGrip, a Jack-of-all-input-devices, replaces a mouse and keyboard,
joystick and anything else you might plug into your PC. It's perfect for
people who are tired of comfortable, familiar and standard input devices
like keyboards and mice, and want to learn something new.
http://www.alphagrip.com
Now Available: Updated "CleanAll!"
There's a new a new version available of the extremely popular
"CleanAll" batch file that can scrub your hard drive clean of huge
quantities of files left behind by other cleanup tools.
After trying the new file, Plus! reader "Jeanannd1" wrote:
I downloaded the DOS cleaner BAT files you had been
mentioning, and just tried them out yesterday. I had
thought it would probably not get me that much space, as I
use not only Microsoft's cleaning program, but some
commercial and free ware programs and also manually go
through the hard drive every once in a while to delete
useless material.
I was WAY wrong!!! The program found and deleted 200 MB of
temp files, and useless files that I had overlooked. Thank
you again Fred, love your newsletter more and more each
time.
This newest batch file extends and refines the functions of the
original CleanAll.Bat (
http://www.langa.com/cleanall_bat.htm ).
Like its predecessors, it can aggressively scrub your hard drive
clean of many junk files, freeing up (typically) anywhere from tens
to thousands of megabytes of otherwise-wasted disk space by: It
cleans up all Temp files, compacts your Registry and Cookies Index,
completely empties the Temporary Internet File (TIF) area, and
compacts your Icon cache (by deletion/re-creation).
But this new version now more-reliably handles circumstances where
the Icon cache may not have been cleaned correctly before; and also
can automatically run either Scandisk or Norton Disk Doctor at the
end of the cleanup process to ensure the health of your hard drives!
In addition, I have a new PIF file to make the DOS-level batch file
work correctly with Windows; and a new Registry patch to install the
new cleaner into your Recycle Bin menu.
This file is specifically for Windows9x, and is a continuation of the
detailed series of articles on system maintenance in the LangaList
newsletters and on the WinMag.Com site; those articles comprise the
documentation and fully describe the purpose, use of, and precautions
about this file. The download page provides live links to all
relevant documentation.
Note: With tens of thousands of people trying to access the file at
the same time, things may get a little weird for a while. 8-) I
apologize in advance if you encounter server congestion when you try
to download the files.
(And by the way, early, congestion-free access to files like this is
one of the benefits of the Plus! editions: Plus! readers have had
open access to these files for two weeks, which is why reader
Jeanannd1 was already able to use and comment on them. If you'd like
to be at the head of the line for future files, check out the Plus!
edition at
http://www.langa.com/plus.htm )
(NOTE: I love this! - Peter)
I Want My NGI
My first online experience was 20-ish years ago with a 300 bps
(that's 0.3 kbps) acoustic modem I'd clamp onto the ear- and
mouthpiece of my phone. It seemed cool and high-tech at the time. <g>
Today, my cable company has an all-digital fiber-optic network drop
at my curb, with a beefy, highly-shielded metal cable running from
curbside to my house carrying data to and from my cable modem--- and,
oh by the way, about 500 cable TV channels too. It seems fairly cool
and high-tech now, but I'm sure in 20 years it'll seem as antiquated
as that cheesy 300 bps modems does today.
The "Next Generation Internet" and its spinoffs (such as "Internet2")
offer a current glimpse into that future world--- with both its overt
positives and implied negatives, as reader David Lange suggests:
Dear Fred: Your Byte article on the NGI is simply fabs man!
- one big eye-opener. (
http://www.byte.com/column/BYT20010119S0009 ) And the
resources given therein are a treasure trove for what will
be reality not too far away in time. I have yet to check
out those sites one by one.
Which makes me wonder whether ordinary guys like me will be
able to cope with the NGI. Because it's one big hassle
dealing with the present one, I think.
What, does the prospect of live, full color, interactive, high-
resolution 3D virtual reality spam alarm you? <g> Seriously, there
may be new problem that will acompany the new benefits of the highly
connected future--- but pro or con, it's better to know what's coming
than not.
Microsoft phasing out Windows 95
----------------------------------------------------------------
"For Windows 95, the end is here.
Microsoft has taken steps to ensure that Windows 95 will become an asterisk
in terms of sales. One of Microsoft's most popular products among both
consumers and businesses, the operating system is still in use at many
corporations today.
The licenses that let most computer makers incorporate the OS in new
computers expired Dec. 31. As a result, Dell Computer and other computer
makers no longer install the OS on new computers except under special
circumstances.
'Beginning January 01, 2001, Dell is no longer licensed to factory install
Windows 95,' states an 'end of life' notice on Dell's Web site.
In addition, Microsoft is not offering the OS under new volume licensing
agreements that it sells directly to medium-sized to large businesses,
according to company representatives"
Dragon Naturally Speaking 5
----------------------------------------------------------------
Subscriber John Hills sent me this:
"It does appear that Dragon NSP Version 5 is a massive improvement,
particularly when using Outlook Express. Accuracy is much improved and
Outlook Express can now be used properly instead of leaping around the top
menus. Also the learning time is greatly reduced. Using the Internet and
voicing links is a doddle.
So for those who have earlier versions, you should try and get hold of
Version 5. Those thinking about using voice can safely spend their money on
version 5 and get quite amazing results. At present, upgrade versions seem
difficult to get hold of but the full version is readily available.
Note: It is still a good idea to buy a USB headset for using voice (if you
haven't already got one) as this does make a huge difference to accuracy."
He then added, "I can say that yesterday, I trained a tetraplegic
(quadriplegic in USA) and in thirty minutes from scratch he was sending
emails, and surfing the web with nigh on 100% accuracy. I have seen reports
that say IBM via talk is better but I do not agree. You can for example
simply say, switch to mail and it goes straight to Outlook Express with out
having to climb the menus. I do think that it is important to spend a few
more pounds on a USB headset, as this is where the accuracy is built. Also,
I notice that in versions 3 and 4 they recommend a minimum of a 220mhz
processor and 64 MB of ram. I always recommend double this.
But for the latest version 5 is recommends 150meg of ram but I would
recommend 256meg for a seamless and wait free experience."
Confessions of a Software Liar
How software companies make fibbers out of you and me.
I'm an honest person. And that's why I hate it when software
companies force me to lie.
Why should I have to violate a fundamental precept of every religion
on earth just to install MumblePro for Windows? Gentle reader, hear
my confession (and I'll give YOU an opportunity to confess in a
minute) -- here's how I've lied:
I promised to register later. Most software companies want you to
register. Registration is the optional transfer of personal
information about you, along with some information about how and
where you bought a product. Companies want 1) customer data, which
helps them find more suckers like you; 2) your contact information so
they can spam you; and 3) your contact information so they can sell
it to another spammer. Though you have the legal, moral, ethical, and
constitutional right to choose not to register, many software
installation programs give you two choices about registration: 1)
Register Now; and 2) Register Later. How about "Register Never"? In
my case, that option is usually the truth. But without that option, I
just lie and choose "Register Later." Contrary to its reputation,
Microsoft is one of the few gentle companies when it comes to
registering. Microsoft Office Professional, for example, asks, "Would
you like to register your copy of Microsoft Office 2000 Professional
with Microsoft?" and the options are "Yes" and "No." That's the right
way to do it.
I agreed to licensing agreements I didn't really read. The software
license portion of a software installation generally prevents you
from proceeding unless you click "I agree." But do you agree? Did you
read the agreement? Probably not (we'll find out). It's a huge, hard
to read page full of legal mumbo jumbo that protects the software
company in the event that they have to haul you into court someday.
When we don't read the agreement, but choose "I agree" we're lying.
I agreed to licensing agreements I didn't understand. Many licenses
are written in some pretty intense legalese, and then tell you that
by installing the software, you understand the agreement, and agree
to it. One of my favorite elements of the Microsoft Office licensing
agreement is eight paragraphs of French. Well, I don't speak French,
but agreed to the whole document anyway. For all I know, the
translation says, "Listen, column boy, if we ever catch you using
Microsoft Word to write anything nasty about Microsoft, we reserve
the right to make you listen to every speech Steve Ballmer has made
since 1987." I don't know. I'm not a lawyer, and I don't speak
French. Yet, I tell software during installation that I fully
understand their licensing agreements. Et vous?
I clicked "I agree" to disagreeable agreements. For example, some
software licensing agreements say you may install and use one copy.
But I have a laptop, and I install two copies of just about every
software title I own -- one on the PC in my home office, and one on
my laptop. Many households these days have two, three, or more PCs in
them, but buy just one copy of a software program in violation of the
agreement. Liars!
I agreed to things I've never seen. For example, the AnyDay
synchronization software program specifies that I "agree to comply
with all export laws, regulations and restrictions of the United
States." I'm not an expert on all export laws, regulations, and
restrictions of the United States. I don't know if my future behavior
(say, taking my laptop to Canada on business) is a violation of some
export law. But I click "I agree" anyway.
I blame the software companies for making a liar out of me. But I
could stay honest by accepting "Option B," which exists in just about
every licensing agreement: Uninstall the software and return the
disks for a full refund. I could choose only software that allows me
to stay honest. But that would eliminate just about all the software
you've ever heard of. It's an industry wide problem that would only
be solved if we all suddenly decided to choose "Option B." But that's
not going to happen. It's just too easy to lie. (Do you agree? Choose
one: * I agree * I do not agree)
Well, there's my confession. Let's hear yours:
1) Have you ever selected "Register Later" without intending to ever
register? Yes | No
2) Have you read, understood and agreed to all the licensing agreements
for the software you've installed and used? Yes | No
3) Do you resent software companies for forcing you to agree with hard
to read, hard to understand and objectionable licensing agreements,
just to use their products? Yes | No
Drop me a line at
winletter@elgan.com and let me know. (I'll keep
track of the answers, but not who gave the answers. I'll permanently
delete your e-mail after marking your answers, and won't share your
name or personal information with anyone.) I'll report on what I
discover next week.
Sleepy Sound v1.1 [460k] W9x/NT/2k FREE
{Fall asleep gradually} Which would you rather have: an alarm that instantly pulls you out of sleep by making obnoxious noises, or a soothing mixer that brings you back from dreamland gently?
Are we made of eggshells? When it comes to slumber, I'm definitely an egg. This nocturnal device plays music when it's time to close your eyes; the volume is continually reduced until you fall into
unconsciousness. After your bedtime is over, the music begins and gets louder and louder until you wake up. No snooze bar, buddy. I'm getting relaxed just thinking about it... somebody get me a
pillow. Or, Pirillo. He's... that one guy... who likes to stay up 'til... 3AM.
Zelda Classic v1.84 [2.0M] W9x FREE
{The new adventures of Link} You thought Atari was cool... but then Nintendo came along. And who could forget the Holy Grail of all Nintendo games: The Legend of Zelda. Ah... the deserts, the
mountains, the fairies, the dragons, the little yellow triangle things... hey, it's been awhile, okay? This isn't affiliated with any official corporation, but it's an exact replica of the original
gold-plated game (almost) -- with a few extra surprises tossed in. You can play the "classic" or set out on a campaign with more enhanced graphics. You even have the option of taking on new quests.
Ganon is still as mean as he used to be, though.
(NOTE: Just for you Amy. - Peter)
Microsoft's Security Screen Savers
Here at the Microsoft Security Response Center, we investigate thousands of security reports every year. In some cases, we find that a report describes a bona fide security vulnerability
resulting from a flaw in one of our products; when this happens, we develop a patch as quickly as possible to correct the error. In other cases, the reported problems simply result from a mistake
someone made in using the product. But many fall in between. They discuss real security problems, but the problems don't result from product flaws. The Security screen savers help remind users of
basic security practices. The download package contains two different screen savers."
() That's all for now...
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Last Revised: 02/08/2001
