PETE'S SOMETIME
NEWSLETTER
September 21, 2000
No matter where you
go, there you are
Hi Ya'll,
If you're contemplating trying out the MSN Explorer (Beta) to see what all the hype is about in spite of Microsoft's warning not to install it on your only computer -- don't even think about it!
Read about The Glitch in MSN Explorer. Then click the three links on the right of that page to learn more about MSN Explorer. If you like receiving your mail via Outlook Express or other POP3 client, note especially that you'll have to give that up in favor of the Web-only Hotmail, which is like giving up home delivery in favor of going to the post office.
I tried Hotmail once, not realizing it was Web-only, but left it rapidly. It's the only e-mail account I have (had) which attracted any kind of spam, and Hotmail attracts it like (bleep) attracts flies. Most of it was advertising porno sites in Europe, and some of those ads were positively filthy. When I tried to cancel the account, I was told that I couldn't, but if I didn't log in for 90 days it would be automatically "deactivated."
USB 2.0 will pass data 40 times faster than USB 1.1. Computers with USB 2.0 controllers are expected this Fall. Peripherals containing USB 2.0 will work with version 1.1 controllers, at the 1.1 speed. See the attachment, USB2.txt, for more info.
The Bad News - Controllers to upgrade your present USB computer are no where in sight. If the USB controller is built into your motherboard, you might be stuck with version 1.1; we won't know until upgrade controllers arrive. Windows 95 OSR2 sort of works with USB 1.1, but probably won't work at all with USB 2.0; you'll need Windows 98, Me, or 2000.
Even though your computer has a couple of USB sockets doesn't mean it can communicate with a USB peripheral. The manufactuer may have forgotton to enable USB in the BIOS! There is a program written by Intel called USBReady.exe which claims it will tell you whether your USB is ready to fly, and why not if it isn't. Click here to download this small free program to your desktop and click the icon to run it.
When I ran USBReady, it told me: My operating system is "Windows 98 with full USB support"; my system as a whole "does not have full support for USB" because my "System hardware does not have USB support", which I hope means USB is turned on but that no USB-connected device could be found; and "USB driver connection not operating correctly", which I hope means there is no USB device for it to talk to.
On the other hand, maybe those things mean USB is not turned on in my BIOS. Where oh where did I put that user manual that came with my computer? It told how to access the BIOS program, where all the settings were, and their possible values and meanings of those values.
USB.org has a helpful FAQ section which runs from "What is USB?" to troubling shooting.
Well, Windows Me is in the stores, so now we know the real street prices. Upgrade from Windows 98 is $50 through Jan 15, 2001. Upgrade from Windows 95 (and 98 after 1/15/01) is $90. New install (upgrade from Windows 3.1 requires a new install) is $209.
Microsoft's Windows Me Update page has detailed instructions for performing the upgrade, and a link to a page listing minimum and recommended CPU, available disk space, and other hardware requirements.
One seemingly impossible installation requirement is to shut down all running programs (except Windows Explorer [I don't know what it's called in Win95]) but NOT to use the Ctrl-Alt-Del window to close the ones you can't reach from your desktop. So, Mr. Gates, how am I supposed to close them?
User reports on Windows Me are starting to come in all ready. Many thought so little of it they went back to their Windows 98 or 98 SE, but some did think it would be fine for rank newbies who have never used a computer.
Some programs won't work with Windows Me, most notably (in my opinion) McAfee VirusScan 4 and some Norton programs, and Quarterdeck CleanSweep. McAfee VirusScan 5 will work, if you download the free patch. Also, according to this article, I blew it: Windows Me does not support DOS, at least not from within Windows, so any Windows utilities and games you have which use DOS (perhaps without your knowledge) won't work either.
405 A 3 minute movie shot by two special effects guys and put together on home computers. It's a fun little film made for Internet showing.
This movie streams to your computer, so you don't have to wait for a full download before it starts. I recommend the QuickTime movie even though the 56K version's picture is truly postage stamp size and you'll miss the quick fun parts. I found both of the MS Media Player versions to be skippy and jerky, and they can't be replayed from your disk. I don't have RealPlayer 8, so couldn't test that version.
If you have the time, I highly recommend clicking on the 1000K QuickTime version. It's a 15.8MB file and will take 45-60 minutes to download through a 56K modem, but it will replay just fine because it's being stored in a Temp folder as it's streaming. This version will give you a picture large enough to see.
To save the QuickTime movie, in Win98, click Start/Find/Files (or press Window-F), enter "*1000*.mov" (w/o the quotes). When it's found, right-click the file name and Copy & Paste (or right-click, drag and Move) it to the folder of your choice where it can be Renamed. Delete the Temp file to reclaim it's disk space.
Did you know? When you do a Copy & Paste of a file, only the full name of the file is placed in the clipboard. The actual copy operation comes when you Paste.
Latest Ink Jet Ratings (PC World, Oct 2000). Epson Stylus Color 980, $249 ($233 + $13S&H at Computers4Sure.com) before $50 rebate, takes home use top slot for highest quality output.
Is your ink jet printer nickel and diming you to death? Samsung has a new 600 dpi, 8 ppm, laser printer for $199, a great price, if most of your printing doesn't have to be in color. Check on cost and availability of toner cartridges, though. I got a good price when I bought my laser printer, but it turned out the toner cartridges were only available via mail from the company. I later discovered cartridges for the other printer I was considering, which cost $25 more than the one I purchased, were available at Sam's for $50 less than what mine cost.
You need a color laser for printing photos? The Lexmark Optra C710N at $2199 takes top honors for that job.
See whether someone beat you to it at the U.S. Patent Office Search Page (once you get the hang of entering queries.) Patents in the online database only go back to 1976.
Just for funsies, I did a search on "lawnmowers AND push" for 1999-2000. Surprise! Push mowers are still evolving. A fellow in S.C. got a patent on an attachment which replaces the fixed wheels with 360-degree swivel wheels to "facilitate maneuverability" and adjust cutting height.
The database only has text descriptions. I wish drawings were available, because the text makes no mention of how the cutting reel is driven once the fixed wheels are removed.
Today's HDTV specials are two combo plates. We have the PC On Your TV and the TV On Your PC, Versions One and Two. Due to the multitude of HDTV "standards" (para. 3) in the US, with the TV On PC we recommend the 19" or 21" monitor.
With both combo plates, we also offer phone service delivery over cable TV and TV delivery over phone line. Since the chefs are still perfecting both of those dishes, my personal preference is TV over cable and phone over phone, because when the electricity goes out you'll lose your PC and TV, but the phone will still work.
Seagate has a free utility called SeaTools (scroll down to the second item) for Windows 95 through 2000. Use this utility to check the health of any brand of IDE or SCSI hard drive. SeaTools was written to help one determine whether some sort of problem you can't zero in on, perhaps missing, corrupted, and/or unreadable files, is related to the hard drive or to software.
Even if you aren't having "strange problems", it doesn't hurt to run a tool such as this to see whether it finds a drive problem which hasn't manifested itself to you yet. The download page claims you "must" have at least one Seagate brand drive on your system, but you don't. Download the program to your desktop.
The download is SEATOOLD.EXE, 965KB. Run (click or double-click) it to create a bootable 1.44MB floppy disk containing the SeaTools program. It can be any old floppy you have around, as any files on it will be erased.
See the README.TXT on the floppy. Read about the tests, then scroll down past the Seagate-specific, unless you have a Seagate drive, and the floppy troubleshooting items, to KNOWN LIMITATIONS and see whether anything applies to you. README implies you can reboot to DOS and then run a .BAT file from the floppy, but I don't see the point.
When you're ready to test your drive(s), run ScanDisk and fix any errors it finds, and make sure the floppy is writeable (write-protect window closed) because a "profile" of your drives and the test report, ADVLOG.TXT, will be written to it. Insert the floppy, and power up or reboot (Start, Shutdown, Restart), and SeaTools will automatically start. It creates a 16K RAM-disk, which is a virtual disk drive in RAM, if possible, and loads the floppy's programs into memory, so be patient. I recommend starting from a fresh boot (power up) so all your RAM will be empty and available for the mini operating system SeaTools will load. Windows does leave some stuff in memory when you do a reboot, which SeaTools has to work around.
SeaTools is a DOS program without mouse support, so you'll have to use the Arrow keys to move up and down menus and select buttons, and the Enter key to make something happen. You'll have the choice of doing a Quick test, or a Complete test, on Seagate and/or Generic drives. On my system with two 6.4GB "generic" drives and 120MB usable RAM, the Quick test took 90 seconds per drive, and the Complete test took a combined total of 45 minutes.
To interpret any negative test results, go to SeaTools Results.
You can delete the downloaded file after the floppy is built. If you want to run the tests again in a year or so, I recommend downloading SeaTools again and rebuilding the floppy, because the program is updated from time to time.
Silicon Zoo Artwork on computer chips. Also check out the Ocean Spray Collection in the Photo Gallery.
Entry Level Information Technology Salaries (table) makes interesting reading for anyone leaning toward/heading for a career in the IT field. Once on the payroll, annual increases can run from 5-40%. More info here.
Fish Story Man's head found in cod fish.
AtomFilms.com has movie shorts for free viewing. Goodauthority.org has reviews of a few recent films.
Where's that music coming from? If you have an Award BIOS and hear "It's a Small, Small World" and/or "Fur Elise" coming from inside your computer case, that's your computer crying "Fix me, I'm dying!" See Microsoft Knowledge Base Article Q261186.
Antarctic Ozone Hole largest ever on Sept. 3, 2000, covering area three times size of US.
Microsoft Office's next release will be called Office 10. PC Week has a 1st review of an early Beta. Some interesting new stuff is on the way. If your company uses Office 97, they might skip over Office 2000 and move to this one.
Post Office and FedEx are considering an alliance. That would benefit both organizations, but is it ethical for PO to favor just one company? What about UPS?
Dirty Dealing at Amazon.com? The browser and/or ISP you use, and/or the time of day, may determine the price of a DVD (and other items?).
FCC Grants SBC's Wish. If you live in a SBC service area but can't get DSL because you're too far away from a "central station", you may get your wish within two years, even if you don't use an SBC phone company. Folks living in these cities are getting their wish now - call your phone company to determine whether you're elegible for the "DSL 'neighborhood gateway' marketing trial". If you are, get the options (such as self-install), one-time and monthly costs, then contact your ISP and ask whether they can beat it.
Fantastic Fish Tank Screensaver. These fish animations have to be seen to be appreciated. You can even turn the top and side lights up and down independently.
Tired of your 28.8 modem? Run down to MicroCenter and pick up a 56K .V90 data/fax (no voice) modem for $3 before they're all gone!
'Twas a good week for hackers: They got credit/debit card info from Western Union, addresses and phone numbers from Ikea, and OPEC had its home page defaced. A survey claims 1/3 of e-business still don't use so much as a firewall to protect their sites. The forcast is continued good weather for the hackers.
'Til next time,
Pete
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