Congratulations,
Class of 2001 graduates! –
-=+ NOISES FROM THE BASEMENT +=-
Vol. 2, Issue 12 June 6,
2001 ISSN 1531-5258
1) Windows Tips - "What's a .DLL?"
2) File Find! - "eCleaner"
3) Sites-Seeing - "AlternaTime\Complete Bushisms"
4) Email Funny - "Computer Cat"
5) MOUS Tips - "PowerPoint Viewer"
6) They Said It - quotes to give one pause
7) Hodgepodge – that what fits no where else
~ ~ ~
Welcome once again, if you've been here before!
New readers, pull up a seat, it good to meet you!
~and~
AOL users – see the newsletter end for your links!
_____________________________________________________
1) Windows Tips -
"What's a .DLL?"
Many of the programs that you'll find in the Basement make use
of ".DLL" files - files that end with .DLL (and sometimes .EXE).
Dynamic-link library (DLL)
files are executable files that
allow programs to share code and other resources, usually
to perform a particular task.
For example, one feature that is common across many Windows-
based programs is the ability to "drag-and-drop" information
between applications, and to tie this information together.
Known as OLE - Object Linking and Embedding - this routine
is found in the Windows file SHELL.DLL.
When a programmer
wants to implement OLE within a program, there's no need to
"reinvent the wheel" and rewrite code to do this. Rather, he
or she needs only link to the SHELL.DLL file and use the
preprogrammed routines.
The use of .DLL's usually proceeds smoothly and we need not
concern ourselves with them. Sometimes
however, a program
may call upon a .DLL and find it either missing or corrupted.
Then, instead of the application running for you, you get an
error box that will probably refer to a bad or missing .DLL
by name.
If you're confronted with this situation, what's your next move?
First, use Start | Find and see if you can track down the .DLL
yourself. If you do find it, right-click
on it, choose Properties,
and then click the Version tab.
If the file is a Microsoft file, you should be able to extract
a copy. If it's not, or if you fail to
find the file, you'll have
to do a bit more work.
Next week we'll look at how to extract those Microsoft .DLL's,
and where we can find the others.
-=++=- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ -=++=-
2) File Find! -
"eCleaner” [457 Kb/EXE]
There's a few different conduits into the Basement from the
'Net, and depending on which one you took to get here originally,
you may not have had the opportunity to download the file I'm
featuring this week.
eCleaner has been a "welcoming gift file" for new subscribers
on the first webpage I ever used for subscription. Most new
readers don't happen to travel that particular path anymore,
so they miss out... and I think anyone who forwards email
needs to have this particular utility - hence it's appearance
as this week's File Find.
Use eCleaner to scrub up email messages - cleaning those
>|:= symbols from the start and end of quoted lines, fixing
inappropriate line wraps, errant HTML code and even removing
those awful multiple "cc:" lines of all previous recipients.
Do your friends a favor - run that message through eCleaner
before you Forward, and cut down on email clutter:
http://www.basementnoises.com/free4u/dl90.htm
-=++=- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ -=++=-
3) Sites-Seeing -
"AlternaTime\Complete Bushisms"
The 20th Century. The Berlin Wall. The American Civil
Rights Movement. The Cherokee Trail of
Tears. The History
of the American Suffragist Movement.
These are just a tiny
fraction of the timelines available at AlternaTime, where you
can "Browse the Past
and some Futures". This website of
timeline links features the collection of George Emery, a
librarian at Canisius College.
There's an Atomic Timeline, a Medieval Technology Timeline,
even timelines for the Planet of the Apes and Kurt Vonnegut!
A Lovecraftian timeline. Timeline of the
Inquisition. Hundreds
more!
http://www2.canisius.edu/~emeryg/time.html
~ ~ ~
Now, I want you to think about these... but not too hard!
"But I also made it
clear to [Vladimir Putin] that it's
important to think beyond the old days of when we had
the concept that if we blew each other up, the world would
be safe."
"This administration is doing everything we can to end the
stalemate in an efficient way. We're making the right decisions
to bring the solution to an end."
"I am mindful not only of preserving executive powers for
myself, but for predecessors as well"
These are but a few of the gems available at Complete Bushisms,
quotations from the current President of
the United States. They
speak for themselves, eh? This site is
updated frequently, so
take a trip Through the Looking Glass, then bookmark for future
chuckles.
And remember - "You
teach a child to read, and he or her
will be able to pass a literacy test."
http://politics.slate.msn.com/Features/bushisms/bushisms.asp
-=++=- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ -=++=-
4) Email Funny -
"Computer Cat" [1890 Kb/AVI]
This week's Email Funny is my favorite of the four movies
you'll find at Matt Wolf's site, http://www.cyberpounce.com
These clips are meant to show the effectiveness of Matt's
new software creation - a product built specifically for your
feline friends!
CyberPounce is a
collection of 11 online toys and games
including helpless little birds, dangling spiders and a furry
mouse, all of which dart around the computer screen. As this
clip shows, CyberPounce has a great potential to become the
purr-fect computer entertainment for your cat:
http://www.basementnoises.com/free4u/dl91.htm
-=++=- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ -=++=-
5) MOUS Tips -
"PowerPoint Viewer"
Once upon a time, reader Pat asked: "I recently received
a "picture slide" type of program which I opened with no
problem. However when I forwarded it to several people
some of them were unable to open it. After some checking
we found that it was a pps "storybook" type of program. What
exactly is that and what type of program is used to open them?"
Well, Pat, .PPS is a type a file format you can create with
PowerPoint when you choose File | Save As | Save as type:
"PowerPoint Show". When you
open this type of file from
your desktop, it will automatically start as a slide show.
PowerPoint will close when the show ends, and you'll return
to the desktop. It does require that you either have PowerPoint
installed (as you do) or that you have the PowerPoint Viewer.
If you have a .PPS file you'd like to share with others that don't
have PowerPoint, you've a couple of choices.
You could send
them a copy of the Viewer yourself - Ppview32.exe, which can be
freely distributed with no additional license.
It comes with
PowerPoint and is located in the PFiles\MSOffice\Office\Xlators
folder on the CD-ROM. If you installed
the Viewer when you
installed PowerPoint, the Viewer is located in the
Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Xlators folder on your
hard drive.
Alternately, the Viewer can be downloaded from the Microsoft
website, http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/
-=++=- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ -=++=-
6) They Said It
"Be ashamed to die
until you have won some victory
for humanity" - Horace Mann
-=++=- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
-=++=-
7) Hodgepodge
Reader Steve K. got me on an error in last week issue
regarding the movie "A.I." - it seems I misspelled Stephen
Spielberg as Stanley Kubrick! For the
record, as Steve
said, "...Stanley Kubrick is loooong dead."
~ ~ ~
Longtime readers of NFTB will recognize the name Steve
Gibson as someone who has contributed immeasurably to
the safety and privacy of all Internet users.
Steve recently
published an immensely fascinating and absorbing article
detailing attacks by a 13-year old hacker upon his website.
Steve has detailed the process used by this hacker and
his ilk in an anatomy of several attacks.
He explains the
defensive steps he took, and subsequent counterattacks.
And he puts in plain words this simple truth - NO website
anywhere is safe from these attacks.
A bit on the technical side, but a MUST READ for every
Internet user:
http://grc.com/dos/grcdos.htm
Subsequent to my writing the above, Steve has posted an
"Open Letter to the Internet's Hackers" - a complete and
total surrender. Catch the latest here:
http://grc.com/dos/openletter.htm
~ ~ ~
The "Born to Be Wild" babe makes a return appearance, and
this time has run afoul of the law.
Then, our Bozo is a prison
inmate who escaped INTO a prison!
http://www.BasementNoises.com
G'nite, and thanks for reading!
=====================================================
Make some noises of your
own! Care to comment on this issue
of Noises? Send your criticisms and/or compliments to:
noises@BasementNoises.com
=====================================================
-!-!-!-Subscribe to NOISES
FROM THE BASEMENT-!-!-!-
If this issue of NOISES FROM THE BASEMENT has been
forwarded to you and you would like a subscription,
don't you want to receive the next issue directly?
You'll get it quicker, and you'll be sure to get it!
send mailto:signup@BasementNoises.com?Sub-news
or sign up online at http://BasementNoises.com/signup/index.asp?news
=====================================================
You have received this e-mail because I know you,
I used to know you, or I got your email address from a
"Wanted" poster at the Post Office...
HOWEVER, if this does not describe you, your address
was submitted through one of the many marketing
venues I use, and your request is on record -
*I NEVER SPAM!*
If you DID NOT intend to sign up for this newsletter,
please click on link at very bottom of this email.
If you wish to change your email address reply to this message
with "Change of Address" in the subject line and include both
your old and new address in the body of the email.
Want advertising info? Send mailto:adinfo@BasementNoises.com
or call toll-free 1 (877) 285-4545
=====================================================
My standard "Your Mileage May Vary" Caveat:
NFTB does not assume responsibility for your use of
information given. Tips are tested on a machine with
Windows 98 and Office 2000 Professional installed.
As I am firmly convinced that all systems are unique little
creatures in and of themselves, any given tip or suggestion
might just not be available to you. Why? Murphy Rules!
All advice should be weighed against your own abilities
and circumstances and applied accordingly. It is up
to you, the reader, to determine if advice is safe and
suitable for your current situation.
Any product or brand names mentioned in this ezine
and associated website are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective owners.
NOISES FROM THE BASEMENT is a BTB Management Services
publication e-published every Wednesday and always
delivered directly to your e-porch, rain or shine!
Noises From The Basement
ISSN: 1531-5258 - Library Of Congress, Washington D.C., USA
Copyright (c) 2001, Dave Gretz
All Rights Reserved.
****************************************************
www.ForOhiosBest.com
Full Service Web Site Design/Management/Promotion
Have a dotcom dream? Visit today to make it real!
__________________________________________________________
Site contents and all original material
copyright © 2001
BTB Management Services
toll-free: 1-877-285-4545