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1) On Microsoft's Being Forced To Split:

Wow, what an awesome day for computing! Thanks, Judge Jackson!

Just think, in today's horribly noncompetitive, Microsoft-dominated environment, we have no real browser choices at all, except for AwebII, Amaya, Arachne, Cello, Chimera, Grail, HotJava, I-Com, I-View, IBrowse, InterGo, Internet Workhorse, Lynx, Mosaic/MultiLingual Mosaic, NeoPlanet, NetCruiser, Netscape, Mozilla, OmniWeb, Opera, Quarterdeck, Spyglass, STiK/CAB, Sesame Navigator, SlipKnot, Softerm, Tango, Tiber, TkWWW, UdiWWW, Voyager, WebExplorer, WebTV, iCAB, Microsoft's Internet Explorer and a few others; or about 100 different ones in all if you count various subtypes and versions. Thank you, Judge Jackson, from rescuing us from this lack of choice!

Likewise, in today's horribly noncompetitive, Microsoft-dominated operating system environment, we are totally *straightjacketed* into running only BeOS or Free BSD or FreeDOS or Solaris or OS/2 or the MacOS or the AmigaOS or any of the many classic *NIXen or any of the approximate 50(!) flavors of Linux--- or one of the 5 flavors of Windows in wide circulation. I can't wait until we actually have some choices!

Clearly, Microsoft's stranglehold on the industry has completely stifled development of all alternative approaches and kept prices artificially high, which is why computers remain exotic and rare luxury purchases in the hands of only tiny numbers of the super-rich and the technologically elite.

Thanks to Judge Jackson's vision and courage, maybe one day we'll reach the goal of having computers for the masses, in every business and many homes; with hardware and software so cheap some companies--- ISPs, for example--- will even be able to give away complete computer systems for free, just for signing up! And we’ll finally have a choice among dozens of browsers and dozens of operating systems, many of which won't cost a dime. Clearly, this happy day of cheap, ubiquitous hardware and abundant, affordable software never would happen without Judge Jackson's brave actions.

Er, waitaminit---it already happened? Long *before* Jackson's ruling?

Um, Judge, can we talk?

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2) "The Windows Memory Optimizer Scam"

In the most-recent Windows Audio Report, Scot Finnie, Paul Schindler and I discuss what Windows Memory Optimizers do--- or more often, *don't* do. Playback of the audio program takes only a few minutes, and you can hear it anytime, via RealPlayer: http://media.cmpnet.com:8081/ramgen/twtoday_media/2000/06/06/war_0606.rm

The same audio program also contains a brief, discussion of what was then the impending announcements of Judge Jackson's remedies in the Microsoft trial.

Check it out!

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3) And Why Are There System Resource Limits, Anyway?

In Part One of the current and ongoing "Resource Leak" series (see http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2000/11.htm and http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2000/12.htm ), I mentioned that the "User" and "GDI" areas are scratchpads Windows needs to keep track of what's running and on screen. These Resource areas, as we know them, trace their roots back to Windows 3.x

By today's standards Windows 3.x was a joke. But it brought a Mac-like graphical interface and limited multitasking to what had been a mostly character-based, one-program-at-a-time DOS world. (Yes, there were geeks, like me, who used DOS task-switchers, primitive multitaskers and/or shells, but we were a tiny minority.)

All personal computers then were anemic by today's standards: Four megs of RAM was considered enormous; a 50 MB hard drive was vast. In that setting, the people who designed Windows never envisioned systems with hundreds of megs of RAM and tens of gigabytes of disk. At the time, it seemed reasonable to set aside two modest memory areas--- 64K each, if memory serves---for User and GDI.

But those small areas soon proved way too confining as the use of Windows exploded, and people began running many apps simultaneously.

The successor to Win3.x, Win95, originally beta'd with the same, small 64K areas. I was the Editor of WinMag then, and had already stated in print that the lack of system resources had become the #1 flaw in Win3.x. In an editorial, I then wrote that unless Microsoft increased the system resources available to Win95, WinMag would not recommend the new operating system to its readers.

That got Microsoft's attention; in the next beta, they doubled Win95's User and GDI areas to 128K---an enormous help.

Later, in Win98, Microsoft added better "cleanup" routines to recover leaked User and GDI resources. But Microsoft didn't increase Win98's User and GDI beyond 128K because they thought that we'd all soon be running NT: NT's equivalent areas are limited only by available memory, and have no artificial cap. (Ditto Win2K.)

Of course, Win9x refuses to die, and so---years later than anyone thought---millions of Windows users are still limited by what is basically a decade-old software engineering decision---one left over from the days when machines were severely RAM-limited--- and left in place due to the need for backward-compatibility, and because of too-optimistic projections about conversion rates to NT/Win2K.

In a way, it's pathetic that bad marketing projections should result in millions of us working with a decade-old OS limitation.<g> But it happens all the time, and on Macs, *NIX, and other OSes (and apps, and non-computer products--- it happens *everywhere*) too. The good news is that a well-tuned Win98 box, running well-crafted programs, can run for a *very* long time with no resource problems at all.

And that's what this whole series on Resource Leaks---including this context/background information that can help you understand the origins of the problem and why it hasn't been fixed--- is all about. Stay tuned: Part Three is in the works!

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4) New Books

I've added several new and excellent books to the "Recommended Reading" page at http://www.langa.com/books.htm . That page includes direct links to Amazon.Com so you can easily order any books that interest you, and get the full Amazon discount--- usually 20% off the cover price!

The new books are:

"Windows 2000: The Complete Reference," a huge book that's sure to help anyone getting Win2k going.
http://www.langa.com/books.htm#win2ktcr

"Windows 2000 Secrets" is another of Brian Livingston's great "secrets" series.
http://www.langa.com/books.htm#win2ksecrets

"Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Resource Kit" is the reference book+CD I've been waiting for since Win2K arrived.
http://www.langa.com/books.htm#win2kreskit

"Linux in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition" is part of the excellent O'Reilly "Nutshell" series--- concise, accurate, useful.
http://www.langa.com/books.htm#linuxnutshell

"Running Linux:" tons of detailed info.
http://www.langa.com/books.htm#runlinix

Thanks to thousands of you, the LangaList has become one of the ten most-recommended "Computing & Internet" web sites, according to the folks at Recommend-It! (See http://www.recommend-it.com/RecCenter/10.html .) It's a great feeling to know that this newsletter (and Langa.Com) is useful enough for many, many of you to have suggested it to friends and colleagues. 

And, as a way of saying "Thanks!" there are two prizes you can win simply for making a recommendation. For example, if you use the Recommend-It service, you can win $10,000 (full details also available via this link):

http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#1

Or, win a copy of "Poor Richard's E-Mail Publishing: Creating Newsletters, Bulletins, Discussion Groups and Other Powerful Communications Tools." This book has been described as "An excellent, straightforward manual on email publishing, banner ads, driving traffic and especially ethics." (Full details also available via this link):

http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#2 

Either way, thank you again, and good luck!

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6) Boot Disk Tips?

Reader Jon Trimble went searching to see what past LangaList issues had on DOS, and that led him to ask this:

Fred: I am a long time subscriber to the news letter and find it both helpful and enjoyable. But, as you might expect, the one issue I would really like to revisit, autoexec.bat and config.sys changes to reclaim low memory, I can find nowhere. You make reference in your 11-Oct-99 LangaList archive to your Oct. 11th WinMag column to find it. The problem is that the link goes to a page which does not include Oct., Nov. or Dec. '99 issues. Can you point me to where I can find it? Thanks for the help and "keep on writing."

Here's an address that might be worth keeping: You can access *all* past WinMag columns via a single entry point: http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/default.htm

From there, you can use the pull-down menu to locate specific topics by date and/or title. For example, the article Jon wanted---on Boot Disks--- is at

http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/1999/1011.htm

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7) Confusion About The Coming "DOS-less" Windows

I really hadn't intended to open this particular can o' worms just yet--- honest! But every time I try to answer reader questions, it seems I only generate more questions and controversy. <g>

For example, some readers took issue with my assertion that you can use an old boot disk to access the hard drive of a system running the new Windows. One reader pointed out, for instance, that you can't use an old DOS 6.2 boot disk to access a FAT32 or NTFS hard drive: DOS may boot, but it won't see the hard drive. This is true.

But what actually I said was "When you need DOS, just boot from, say, a Win98 boot floppy. DOS runs just fine from a floppy, and once booted, you can still access your hard drive files."

And in fact, Win98's boot floppies *will* recognize Fat16 or Fat32 hard drives (and you can even get them to work with Fat16/Drivespace partitions). No, they won't work with NTFS partitions--- but that's not part of Win98 nor the new Windows anyway; it's an NT/Win2K thing, and is a whole 'nother issue.

Some readers also were confused when I wrote "Relax. First of all, no one can force you to upgrade to the new version of Windows. And everything that works on your system today will still work on your system after the new OS comes out." In other words, when the new OS comes out, your existing system won't somehow automatically change itself---DOS won't vanish from your hard drive or cease to work simply because there's a new OS on the shelves of your local software store.

I guess some people thought I was saying: "Everything that works on your system today will still work after you upgrade your system to the new OS." I didn't say that because that statement is false: There are some boot-to-DOS utilities that simply won't work with the new Windows. If you choose to upgrade to the new Windows, some of your low-level utilities may need to be upgraded or modified either to work without DOS, or to work from a boot floppy. (Some utility vendors are already starting. For example, the new version of DriveImage 3.0, from PowerQuest, ships with special boot floppies that use Caldera DOS---a deriviative of the ancient and venerable DR DOS--- so you can use the software even on "DOSless" versions of Windows.)

All I was trying to do was to reassure DOS fans that there's no need to panic. The new OS won't affect you at all, until or unless you choose to install it. And before then, we'll have lots more on the new Windows--- and lots more on DOS.

I apologize for the confusion. I try to write clearly--- honest! But maybe I should switch to Hungarian. <g>

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8) They Loaded The Code

Do you have a home page or website? (It doesn't matter what size.) Please click over to http://www.langa.com/code.htm, and maybe you can join the hundreds and hundreds of LangaList readers who have "Loaded the Code!" (If you've already "Loaded The Code" and are wondering if your site will appear here or on the Langa.Com web site, please see http://www.langa.com/link.txt )

Speaking of which: Here's another eclectic sample of reader sites--- some professional, some very personal:

View A Randomly-Chosen Reader Site
http://www.langa.com/cgi-local/rand_link.pl

Manually Browse All Posted-to-Date Sites Starting At
http://www.langa.com/readersites.htm

Splaat's World
http://www.splaatsworld.com/

Axarquía (en Espanol)
http://www.axarquiaonline.com/

Bits & Bytes---a Y3K-certified compatible site
http://www.greencis.net/~ibi/

Bruce Young's Barely Adequate Home Page
http://www.spnt.com/~byoung/

FlatRock Technology Consultants
http://www.flatrocktc.com/index.htm

CCWriter Web Design
http://www.ccwriter.com/

AfredMag
http://members.xoom.com/alfredmag/

New England Bands
http://bandshack.com/

Almost a month ago, I told you about a major security patch coming for Outlook 2000 and Outlook 98 (but not for Outlook Express). At the time, Microsoft said the patch was expected "next week."

Well, it turned into three+ weeks, but the patch is finally out.

There's a ton of important background information at http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-05-18.htm#5 ; because I've presented it once before, I won't bore you with it again. <g> But please don't skip the explanation--- if you aren't up to speed on what the patch will do, you could be in for a surprise: The patch will radically change the way Outlook handles attachments.

The easiest way to get the patch is to surf to http://officeupdate.microsoft.com . Try the auto-update feature while you're there; it's a time saver, if you can use it. If you can't use it, then the main page has links to the individual patches for both versions of Outlook.

Winmag columnist and PC Pitstop maven Dave Methvin pointed me to this gem, which reads like a "Believe It Or Not" item. It's a for-real page from the Microsoft Knowledgebase that explains a hardware problem that is beyond obscure. In fact, it's downright bizarre:

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