by Tom Lassiter
What’s HOT – and what’s NOT?
And the answers are: The August temperature in Houston – and Windows 98.
The amazing thing, to me anyway, is even Microsoft’s rather lukewarm attitude toward it. They appear to be taking three basic positions on it: (1) It may well be the last of the Windows 9x line of operating systems (before we all migrate to NT), (2) It may be most appropriate for those with very early versions of Win95 and those power users who must always have the latest and greatest, and (3) Those with more recent versions like Win 95/ OSR2 may well live with Win 95 until NT 5.0 comes out early next year.
The latter approach is certainly the one expected to be followed by most small corporate users not already on NT. They have no intention of upgrading their operating system twice in a twelve-month period and will almost certainly wait for NT 5.0 with its more user-friendly features than NT 4.0.
There are some very nice features in Win98. But are they enough to make us all want to run out and upgrade. Probably not. However, for those still on Windows 3.1 this may be the last chance to have a smooth built-in automatic upgrade path. After this it may be a bit sticky. And for those of you still hanging onto some DOS programs, time is definitely running out on those. Please be actively looking for windows software to replace your DOS applications. We are seeing a sharply increasing curve in the growth of CPU speed and the software to handle that speed. Plan your migration to the future – don’t get caught short and have it forced upon you.
While you are reading the abundance of articles on Win 98 and trying to decide what is best in your own particular case, we are going to remain on Win95 tips this month:
Can’t See All Your Files?
If you try to find a file in My Computer (MC) or Windows Explorer (WE) that was referenced in an article or mentioned by a friend, and you can’t see it – then you may need to change your options. Win95 deliberately hides files of certain types so that lesser experienced users don’t do harm to their ability to run the PC. This is not all bad and has saved untold hours of grief for many users. If your are truly comfortable then in either MC or WE CLICK on VIEW, OPTIONS. On the View tab check the Show all files option. Now you can see all file types, including those listed in the box that were previously hidden. For your enlightenment take a close look at those types and be very careful in dealing with such files as they can have a major impact on your system.
Desktop Shortcuts for
Web Sites
From the current versions of either Netscape or Internet Explorer just RIGHT-CLICK on a web page and choose to create a desktop shortcut to it. This can really speed up access to your favorite web site (did I hear ?).
Get New Modems Recognized Correctly
Modems are one of the more popular upgrade items, as we all want the constantly increasing speed at lower prices. Sometimes new modems don’t get recognized correctly when installed and one or more incorrect modems may show up in the Control Panel modem list. When that happens (OK – if that happens) remove the modems from the list and do a restart on Win95. Windows should tell you it detected new hardware. If it doesn’t, go to Control Panel and DOUBLE-CLICK on Add New Hardware. Let it search as per the directions. After the search is complete, CLICK on Details to make sure the proper modem was detected. If it wasn’t then select the proper one from the list of manufacturers and models.
Sound the Alarm for
Caps Lock
I’m a lousy typist with fat little fingers that seem to be forever finding keys I didn’t mean to strike. One of the most annoying is the Caps Lock key. I’ll hit is accidentally and not discover it UNTIL I’VE TYPED A LINE IN ALL CAPS. To improve on this go to Control Panel and choose the Accessibility Options. On the keyboard tab check the box to Use Togglekeys. Next go to the General tab and unselect the box to Turn off accessibility features. These settings will cause your PC to beep anytime your Caps Lock, Num Lock, or Scroll Lock keys are pressed; thereby telling me – “Hey dummy, you just pressed me accidentally again!” If it doesn’t beep your original little PC speaker may be disconnected; a not uncommon occurrence in this era of soundcards.
Monthly PC Tune Up (Without spark plugs or timing lights)
Just as your car gets dirt accumulations in the air intake and fouled plugs from poking along on the Houston freeways, your PC is subject to problems from all the file deletions and applications installing you do each month. If you follow the steps below, in order, each month your system will reward you with snappier performance and longer life. 1. Use MC or WE to remove all files from C:\windows\temp that are over a week old. 2. Run Scandisk from Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools. Select the Standard option and let it Automatically Fix Errors. 3. Empty your Recycle Bin with a RIGHT-CLICK and select Empty Recycle Bin. 4. Run Disk Defragmenter, same location as Scandisk above. Choose to run it even if it says it doesn’t need it. There, your PC’s cholesterol just dropped 40 points. Start snapping up those school clothes and supplies – September is just around the corner. And so am I; see you then.Tom Lassiter is a member of the HAL-PC Board of Directors. He may be contacted at jamesl@hal-pc.org.
E-mail me at webmaster@hal-pc.org with any comments you have and tell me what you want to see here.