Q–I recently bought a copy of Netscape Communicator 4.7. It consisted of an installation CD and an instruction booklet. I’d like to be able to do the same for the newest version of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Outlook Express. Unfortunately, I don’t seem to be able to buy the installation CD and instruction booklet from Microsoft.
They offer it as a free download from the Internet. When I tried to download it, I was disconnected from the Internet.
The downloads of both Internet Explorer and Outlook Express are a total of almost two hours in length.
I have a MindSpring account and encounter remote disconnects quite often.
Gene Morrisseu @nalco.com
A–As heaven only knows how many frustrated souls have already learned, downloading the latest Web browsers over telephone Internet connections can be a nightmarish brew of dropped connections, garbled code and other headaches.
Because of the huge size of browser software, it is far better to shell out a few dollars and have the bits shipped to you on a CD-ROM.
Point your browser to www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.htm and you can order a $6.95 CD-ROM with the latest browser from Microsoft.
Those who prefer Netscape can order a CD of Netscape Communicator 4.7 for $5.95 at cd.netscape.com.
Q–During start-up, several programs load into the system tray that are only of use when I am using the Internet. I am sure that they take up resources. Is there a way of getting them to load only when I go on-line?
Haskel Levi @Hotmail.com
A–To shut down many of the programs that get loaded automatically at each Windows 98 boot-up, wait till everything is running and carefully press the Control-Alt-Delete keys once. This will call up a Close Program box with a list of all the programs running on your machine. Just highlight the ones you don’t want and then select End Task at the bottom of the box.
The programs listed tend to have obtuse names like Comsnd, Imigcon or Mgactrl, but once you figure them out and determine the names of the Internet-only stuff you want to eliminate, you can shut them down as desired.
Be careful not to hit the Control-Alt-Delete sequence a second time, because that will force a shutdown of everything running all at once.
Q–I was quite concerned when reading your answer to Tony Giorango concerning running QBasic on Windows 98 where you said you had trouble making the QBasic programming language work in the DOS window.
Here’s the deal: I am running Windows 95 on a slow (33 megahertz) 486DX. Using Windows 95’s ability to go to the DOS prompt, I am able to use QBasic as well as other DOS programs I have a lot of time invested in. By that I mean I have a couple of quite elaborate QBasic (and GWBasic) programs I wrote and still use.
I also have a large (for me) database on an old PFS:First Choice DOS program. All this stuff is running fine on my current setup.
Of course the problem is I have to get a faster computer to keep up with the Internet, etc. I am not interested in writing any more QBasic programs but would like to run the ones I have. I also want to access and add to the PFS database, which runs in DOS.
Ron Rosensweet, Deerfield
A–You need not fret a bit, Mr. R. Programs written in MS-DOS work fine when you open a DOS Window in Windows 98; it’s just that Microsoft’s greedy business managers saw fit to cut the excellent free QBasic programming module from the operating system, thus forcing intermediate users like you to move up to the $100 Microsoft Visual Basic programming language.
As I told Mr. G. in the item you cite, Visual Basic is very easy and a real joy to use, but it does force us to send still more money to Microsoft. However, programs written in all prior flavors of Basic run just fine in Windows 98, so you can rest easy about running that PFS database.
Meanwhile, if you can’t shake that urge to write your own home-cooked code, I know you will love playing around with Visual Basic.
Q–I am trying to find a replacement for my Casio Boss SF-9300 electronic organizer. I have always backed it up on my computer using a laplink. The laplink is no longer working and I feel very uncomfortable not to be able to have a backup.
I have been reading your advice and I was all set to purchase a Handspring Visor unit but after reading your column heaping praise on the Palm IIIc, I now wonder if I should buy a Palm instead. Can you please give me the pros and cons of the two and which one you would recommend?
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Helene Levi @uic.edu
A–Electronic organizer gadgets like your Casio Boss are giving way to devices using the Palm operating system because this OS works extremely well in docking handhelds with PCs and Macs and exchanging data, thus assuring that your personal information always remains up to date and always is backed up.
Both the Visor and the Palms use Palm OS, and the only real problem with Visors is that they sell so well that they tend to be hard to find. Visors all use the USB connectors to dock with desktops or laptops and thus are easier for owners of new Macintoshes like iMacs than Palms, which most often use a serial cable for Windows machines. This forces Mac users to send away for special connection kits once they have purchased the Palm itself.
I gave the superb Palm IIIc the biggest rave I could muster because it and it alone brings a laptop-quality color screen to the marketplace. At $450 the Palm IIIc is at the high end pricewise, but it really makes enough of a difference to justify that steep tariff, in my humble opinion.
If you don’t want color and if you can find a Visor, you’ll be delighted to find a price in the $150 range for a superb device that is easier to use (thanks to USB) than are Palms.
Q–Every week or so I upload an HTML page to AOL (city council agenda to http://members.aol.com/Saratogans). I’ve been doing this for several years, and about 5 percent of the time the result is hash.
The upload appears to go just fine, but when I turn on a browser to look at the result, it’s garbage. This happens both on straight dial-out and on TCP/IP. Suggestions?
Tom Moran, Saratoga, Calif.
A–HTML, the Hypertext Markup Language system that contains the text commands that cause Internet browsers to display Web pages, is just as cranky as any other computer programming language. This means that a bollixed command at the top of your program can knock off all of the stuff below it, making hash out of the display.
So save your last page that works and then use it to compare the code for pages that flop in the future.
Another possibility is that you are forgetting to save your HTML documents as text and thus are sending them to the Web site as formatted word processing files (like the .doc or .rtf style) that also would be unusable by browsers looking for a text HTML file.
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Contact Jim Coates via e-mail at [email protected] or via snail mail at the baiduhai, Room 400, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago 60611. If you think you’ve got a better answer to any of these questions add your point of view at chicagotribune.com/go/askjim