September 2007 - Posts
...... XTREE Gold!! Hello?
What was wrong with Win 3.1 File manager? People said that it didn't do much. No kidding! It was a file manager. What did anybody expect? To see it move around the screen like the Windows screensaver clock? I could never quite work out why it was not liked. File Manager stored files, listed files, copied files, moved files, showed file size. It managed files. Explorer took over from File manager and lived on way past Xtree Gold, the Windows version summarily buried by Symantec in 1995.
Apart from the functions already mentioned with regard to Win 3.1 File manager, what else would anybody want to do with files? It seems to me that some people spent countless hours just trolling through lists of files, doing who knows what with them. Maybe a lack of applications was responsible. Let's face it, Windows Calculator or Address Book are just plain dull, but can they be any duller than a file manager?
Years later, and people are still complainng about Windows File Manager, in particular Vista's Windows Explorer. It stores files, lists files, copies files, moves files, shows file size, and can show a great deal more. It manages files. There are four different layouts and seven different views available. It will show thumbnails, general document previews, and play music in a small player which saves having to open the 'big' one. Its appearance is quite unlike any Microsoft file management program preceeding it, but no more different than any version of Xtree Gold ever was when compared to MS file managers of the day.
What was it about non-MS file managers that made them so much fun that some spent half their computing lives looking at and manipulating files? If some can't get used to Vista Windows Explorer, do these same people really believe that swapping to Linux or MacOS is going to be any easier?
We want change, we want change, we want change!! Aaaarrrggghhhhh, somebody changed everything!! Where do we get Ubuntu?
Microsoft Office 2003 SP3 update has been released recently so, if you are running this version of Office, now is a good time to get it. The easiest way is to open Word 2003, click on HELP and then select 'Check for Updates'. Having arrived at the Microsoft Office Online web page, close down Word 2003 as the updates will not run with any Office application still open.
With the advent of Office 2007, no more development is being done with Office 2003, so this is purely a catch up service pack to date. You will also require the original installation media as the update process asks for it.
OK. That aside, we will take a look at the general scene. A problem that arises for many is the installation of newly purchased hardware onto the latest operating system. Although Vista looks like a cosmetically reworked XP, and this is indeed part of the change, there is a considerable amount of code within Vista that is very different from its predecessor. The code changes affect ease of use and security, and in some cases have rendered older utilities useless and/or dangerous.
Note that there is a distinct difference between NEW hardware, and NEWLY PURCHASED hardware. Just because you bought a new printer, scanner webcam or keyboard from a store recently does not mean that it will be compatible with Vista. The product purchased may have been on the shelf of the store/warehouse for some considerable time so, unless it specifically states on the box that it is Vista compatible, assume that it isn't for now.
What I have done in the past is ask a staff member to find out on the internet if drivers for the operating system in use are available for the product I wish to purchase. If a store will not do this for you, go find another store that will, or go home and check it out for yourself. Do not rely purely on the word of a staff member, and follow him to the computer where the information will be checked if only to ensure that you are not fobbed off with a 'yes, it will work' when the store staff member has not checked it out at all.
Having purchased your new hardware, before attempting an installation, go to the hardware manufacturer web site and download the latest drivers available. If there is the full software package available, all the better. With some older products, you may have to initially use the installation CD provided to get the hardware 'control panel' because drivers only may be provided.
Video cards deserve a separate mention here. When updating drivers, you should visit the web site of the 'chipset' manufacturer, and NOT the name of the manufacturer which packaged and sold the product. The two major chipset suppliers are ATI and nVidia. The exception to this rule is integrated laptop video adapters, and maybe even integrated video found in desktops. For these, you visit the laptop or motherboard manufacturer.
It is a good idea to check for new drivers and program updates regularly in the early days of a new operating system. Regardless of the time that products are tested, there is nothing like a period out in the wild to bring other problems to the fore. If you think about the different configurations possible in the world of the IBM compatible PC, it is hardly surprising.
There is no time like the present, by the way.
I would like to bring your attention to this subject.
Users of SpyBot S&D and SpywareBlaster will know that both applications essentially immunize a system against incursion by parasites, assuming that the parasites are known to either application.
There is another string you can add to your bow, and it is not so well known, hence the reason for this post. The next paragraph is taken directly from the MVPS Hosts web site..
"What it does ...
The Hosts file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. This file is loaded into memory (cache) at startup, then Windows checks the Hosts file before it queries any DNS servers, which enables it to override addresses in the DNS. This prevents access to the listed sites by redirecting any connection attempts back to the local machine. Another feature of the HOSTS file is its ability to block other applications from connecting to the Internet, providing the entry exists............."
I would like you to visit this web site, and read more about it..
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
OK. At the end of the document, there is a reference to a utility called HOSTSMAN. This little program makes installation and update of a HOSTS file so easy, and it works with Vista and XP.
You can get 'Hostsman' from here.....
http://www.abelhadigital.com/2007/06/hostsman-3040-released.html
Follow the advice in the first link, and set the update Hosts file to overwrite the old one. Also set the option to auto update the Hosts file in Hostsman options. This will get over the problem of you forgetting to do it.
If the Hosts file blocks the visitor counter or some such device that you can't live without on your web site or blog, Hostsman will allow you to easily edit the file such that you can re-instate the counter such that you can once again see it.
So what are you waiting for? You have a utility download and setup to perform.
It is widely accepted that a 3rd party firewall has a major advantage over a Windows firewall in that it will warn the user of unsolicited outgoing traffic. The trouble with 3rd party firewalls is that they have a tendency to generate popups advising of some process that is not always clear to the average user. So should you allow or disallow the process?
I have absolutely no idea as I can't see your popup, and even if I could see it, I would not necessarily know to what it related. Worst case is that saying no to it will stop a process that you wanted/needed. Best case is that you will notice no ill effect after, in which case the popup has done its job correctly. Sometimes, it feels like pulling straws.
If you prefer to run with Windows Firewall, or maybe no firewall at all from behind a NAT router, there is an alternative warning of possible unsolicited outgoing traffic. It is called NetMeter, available from the link below..
http://www.metal-machine.de/readerror/index.php?action=tpmod;dl=item14
This neat utility will give you a visual on all network traffic, and also gives you a rundown of network usage in numbers. For people connected to services where uploads/downloads are capped, the data provided is very useful indeed.
There is a similar utility in the form of a Vista gadget, and while it does give a visual on what is happening, it does not provide any ongoing data with respect to how much has passed through your network/Internet connection.
It surprises me that many people do not know about <CTRL> and <SHIFT> when dragging files around their systems. For those of you who still do not know, dragging + <CTRL> results in a copy of files to wherever you drop them and dragging + <SHIFT> moves the files to wherever you drop them. These conditions applied to Windows 9x family and Windows NT family up to and including XP. I haven't included Vista because these conditions do not always work. Drag + <SHIFT> sometimes only leaves copies, and sometimes will not do anything at all.
I haven't always moved files around in this way, preferring the old Windows 95 'send to' function when using only one monitor. Since having two, I set up each folder, one on each monitor, and drag away. That was the theory anyway. To be honest, if files were vital, I always copied, then afterwards deleted from the original location, as 'moving' sometimes resulted in total loss if the computer locked out and had to be rebooted, for instance.
So why am I moving so many files around?
Apart from this blog, I have two others, and I compile bits of text and pictures into the default Vista documents folder, and after I have used all of the stuff, I then move the pictures et al to another folder on a separate drive for storage purposes. In this way, I am not looking through hundreds of items for stuff I want to use.
I needed a reliable way to copy or move files around, and after some searching, I found this web site.
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/89196-context-menu-add-copy-folder-move-folder.html
The link just about says it all, and a visit there will reveal the steps necessary to add context sensitive 'copy' and 'move' functions to the right click menus. The instructions come complete with screen shots of what you will encounter during the set up, and it works on all Vista flavors.
One more item before I sign this off.
Drag + <CTRL> or <SHIFT> work well if you want to copy or move a start menu item to your desktop or 'Quick Launch' toolbar. Click once on a Start Menu item, and then use either function to place the icon.