Q. Now that Windows 95 is obsolete, what do you think about an upgrade to Windows ME?
Karl Petter @ticon.net
A. Before replacing Microsoft’s 6-year-old operating system, maybe you should cool your jets for a few months longer, Mr. P. Here’s why:
When Microsoft Corp. announced last month that it finally was retiring Windows 95, it marked something of the death of a superstar in the world of personal computing. It was Windows 95 that finally gave desktop computers powered by Intel chips the same sort of graphical user interface that the Macintosh operating system from Apple Computer Inc. had been delivering since 1984.
After almost six years, chances are that the great bulk of PCs running Windows 95 are dinosaurs that lack the power and hardware features that make the latest Microsoft operating systems do their stuff. Specifically, Windows 95 does not support–among many things–Universal Serial Bus and high-speed FireWire peripherals such as printers, scanners and video camcorders. So the very first piece of advice to offer people still running Windows 95 is not to merely upgrade their operating system but get a new computer that will, indeed, be running Windows ME.
I would hasten to suggest, however, that anybody who has waited this long before considering an upgrade to Windows 95 should probably wait another four or five months until machines start shipping with the brand-new Windows XP operating system.
XP is supposed to mark the long-awaited fusion of Microsoft’s industrial-strength Windows 2000 or NT operating system and its various consumer products such as Windows 95/98/ME. We’ll see.
Q. My grade school on the North Side of Chicago was given a whole slew of old Macintoshes–Performas with numbers like 520, 550, 575, 580 and a couple of 610s. I am looking for some software for them, stuff the kids can play with or type and learn. But these computers were sold without CD drives in many cases. So I need software for floppy disks that you can’t buy anymore. Do you have any suggestions?
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Felicia Carparelli, Chicago
A. I am afraid that while I can point you to a couple of wonderful Internet sources for Macintosh educational software, it isn’t going to be easy, because you are saddled with clunkers. It is going to take a bit of heavy lifting to get things going the way they should for your pupils, Ms. C.
Use your Internet connection to call up the utterly superb Tucows shareware/freeware Web site at www.tucows.com. There you will find a huge archive of Mac games and educational programs, all available for downloading. Another great source for Macintosh programs, including the sort of simple stuff you need, is the download areas on America Online. You can get there by pressing the Apple plus the K key while running AOL software.
Sadly, you also face a challenge in getting any software you download onto that group of old Performas, because it must be small enough to fit on a single floppy disk. It would be nice if somebody could set them up in a network, which would let you easily move programs onto all of the machines at once. Lacking that, however, you will need to make sure any program you download takes up less than 1.4 megabytes of space, because you are going to have to carry a floppy disk with each program to each of the computers.
This will take a bit of time, but I am sure you will be tickled to see the high-quality of Mac school-oriented software suitable for a single floppy disk that is still to be had online.
Q. I have a cable connection to the Internet, and it seems like every time I turn my computer on I get a pop-up window from Microsoft telling me that they have “critical” updates for my machine. I really resent this. It feels as if they are spying on me. Apparently there is no way to stop them from displaying their infuriating messages on my machine anytime they feel like it. I hope the government splits up the company. It will serve them right!
Pat Grimes @home.com
A. I can fix your problem with those pesky pop-up pitches from the world’s largest personal computer software manufacturer, but I doubt if anybody will be able to talk you out of that off-with-their-heads anger.
Anyway, you can shut off the upgrade reminders by calling up the Internet Options command under the Tools menu at the top of the Microsoft Internet Explorer display. Look for the tab Advanced in the options settings and scroll down to an item called Browsing. There you will find a check box that will allow you to deep-six all future nagging for updates. Maybe if Bill Gates had made such fixes easier to find, he wouldn’t be facing an angry public that wishes Microsoft the worst during its ordeal going on before a federal appeals court that will decide whether to order a split-up.
Q. I have been a longtime Macintosh user and have always found the Macs easier to use than PCs. However, I have found that the PC has one advantage over the Mac: its Add/Remove Programs function. Unless I’m missing something on the Mac, there is no easy way for uninstalling programs unless they happen to have an uninstall icon built in.
Beverly Wolf @EarthLink.net
A. This lack of a built-in uninstaller has become an almost contrarian tradition at Apple, where executives have never seemed to have the kind of clout that Microsoft wields over software developers. Microsoft forces program writers to include Windows-friendly uninstall modules or else they cannot advertise their products as Windows certified.
The good news, I guess, is that Aladdin Systems, the foremost maker of Macintosh utilities, for $50 will sell you Spring Cleaning 3.5, software that will search all the files and folders, extensions and control panels for previously loaded software and show a user how to eliminate it. Spring Cleaning also does a fine job of getting rid of the Internet clutter that builds up on Mac hard drives just as quickly as it does in the Windows world. Details at www.aladdinsys.com.
Q. My Windows 98 computer frequently malfunctions when I click on the Start button and order it to shut down. A screen comes up “shutting down Windows 98,” but then the machine just sits there with that screen showing until I have to turn the machine off manually, which then forces the computer to use the ScanDisk next time I run it. This happens every time I play FreeCell, the game that comes with Windows. How can this problem be solved?
Claude Mariottini @home.com
A. There are so many things that could be interfering with an orderly shutdown that you would be better off simply disabling that automatic running of ScanDisk every time you are forced to switch off the machine manually, Mr. M.
Most likely that game of FreeCell is writing data to some part of your computer’s memory that is being used by the operating system. But since the only result is that nagging shutdown problem, it’s easier to shut off the nagging than to fret over finding a fix.
To disable automatic ScanDisk, you need to run a Windows module called msconfig. So click on the Start button and choose Run, where you should type “msconfig” in the command box.
In the box that comes up next, click on the Advanced choice and you will get a series of options, including Disable ScanDisk on bad shutdown. Pick that and you no longer will get hassled by those mandatory ScanDisk sessions.
It is a good idea, however, to keep in mind that ScanDisk serves a purpose in that it can find serious problems on the surface of your hard drive and give you a needed warning to prevent loss of data. Disabling ScanDisk increases chances that your machine might crash, burn and die. So once you disable ScanDisk, it is a good idea every week or so to go back to that same Run function and type in ScanDisk and run it at your own option rather than Microsoft’s command.
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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. Questions can be answered only through the column. Add your point of view at chicagotribune.com /go/askjim