Should you install SP2 when it arrives? One thing you should not install at this point is the public beta release known as Release Candidate 2, which I reviewed in the last issue of the newsletter.

Wait for the final. And if you installed RC2 on your main or only PC, you should uninstall it as soon as possible and revert your machine to a System Restore point taken prior to RC2's installation. Although I've had zero serious problems with it on three test machines, reports from a number of sources warn of potentially serious issues with the RC2 build of XP SP2. Some of them are worth your perusal:

It's too early to say whether all these problems will be apparent in the final version of Service Pack 2, but it's safe to say that at least some will be seen on some machines. Any major (or even minor) upgrade to Windows (or any operating system) can entail major problems for some people who install it. Microsoft has spent extra development time on this release squashing bugs, but the company has publicly stated that some software compatibility issues will be evident in the final release.

I expect the installation problems noted in the CRN review to be more likely occur with online installations (from Windows Update) than on installations from the larger "network install" download or by CD. The online installation is incremental. It checks to see what's installed on your system and only downloads and installs what's not already there. Its primary goal is to minimize download time. But if there's something problematic with your existing Windows installation, online installation is less likely to cure that problem than the full network or CD install.

Finally, do you really, really need Windows XP Service Pack 2 right away? Virtually every Microsoft service pack ever released for Windows has had multiple serious issues for relatively small classes of Windows users (but when you consider the size of the installed base, that could be millions of people). My perennial advice is to hang back a little bit on service packs. Let other people be the guinea pigs. If you wait 30 days, for example, you'll be better informed going into this upgrade.

The flip side of that coin, though, is that people don't howl about an easy installation of an upgrade. The silent majority is more or less happy with most service pack installations. The hue and cry about problems is raised by usually less than 10 percent of those who install. It's important to keep this in perspective.

The security benefits of SP2 are especially important for less experienced PC users. And that's another reason not to hang back forever on installing this release. The fact that there's a decent (if not stellar) onboard firewall installed and turned on by default is a major boon for everyone.

For more detail on Windows XP Service Pack 2, check out my four-page feature review of the upgrade in PC Today magazine:

SP2 Availability
Windows XP Service Pack 2 will probably be the most available Windows service pack ever released from Microsoft. The company still hasn't detailed all the particulars of how you'll be able to get this new code, but expect it to be free, readily downloadable, and also freely available on CD from a variety of sources you might not expect -- including by mail from Microsoft and also very possibly in retail stores.

Even though I recommend and am in favor of SP2 on balance, anyone who has Windows XP's Automatic Updates feature turned on to its full-automatic setting may find that the new service pack is automatically installed on his or her system. Microsoft considers this upgrade to be a critical update. So if you opt to take my advice to hang back 30 days, you might want to make adjustments to your Automatic Updates settings, or at least be vigilant about what you allow to install.

Because I have broadband, my own Automatic Updates setting is the one that allows background download of all new critical updates, but requires my permission before installation. If you work with dial-up, you may want to choose the option that notifies you that updates are available, without downloading automatically.

Pre-Installation Tips
Before you install any Windows upgrade, please follow these steps:

1. Back up your personal data.

2. Check with your system manufacturer. Specific models of PCs may be more prone to issues with SP2 than others. If possible, check with your system manufacturer to see if that's known to be the case before you install SP2. Or check the Scot's Newsletter Forums' Windows forum for the latest word on issues and known problems.

3. Temporarily disable or uninstall software firewall and antivirus software before installing. I can't tell you how many times people have come to me with Windows upgrade problems who have not followed this step. If you neglect to do this, it doesn't mean an automatic melt down of your PC, but the incidence of woes is very high if you don't -- higher than many experienced PC users realize. After installation is complete, re-enable your security software.

4. Check your hard drives for disk errors. In XP, that means running chkdsk /f from a command line. You'll need to reboot your machine to carry out the full process.

5. Make a named System Restore point beforehand. Here are some basic instructions on how to work with System Restore.

6. Shut down all unnecessary applications. This comes under the heading "don't tempt fate."

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Here's what the Windows Longhorn Build 4074 desktop looks like (77K, 800 by 600).

Sometime during the second half of 2005 (my estimate), Microsoft will release Beta 1 of Windows Longhorn, and at that time we still will not have a feature complete version of the operating system. But it will be the first real beginnings of the new OS.

For now, build 4074 doesn't offer enough new to really draw any additional conclusions. For detailed coverage of Windows Longhorn, see this story about the very similar Build 4051:

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LCDs have huge pay offs in the form of saved space, reduced heat, and reduced glare. Until recently, however, you could have bought a small used car for the same amount you'd have to plunk down for a 20-inch or larger LCD.

Both of the LCDs tested for this story -- the Eizo FlexScan L985EX and the Samsung SyncMaster 213T -- can be had for under $2,000, and one sells for around $1,000 on the street. Both accept digital DVI or standard analog VGA (D-Sub mini 15) inputs. They offer identical screen sizes of 21.3 inches (measured diagonally). Both offer a maximum resolution of 1600 by 1200 pixels, which is also their native resolution. Both have thin bezels, making them suitable for side-by-side work with multiple displays. Both have 90-degree rotating screens, offering portrait or landscape orientations. Both have stands that provide height, tilt, and side to side adjustments. Both offer basic cable management systems. Both provide basic onscreen controls, including an automatic-sizing button. Both provide excellent color and brightness. Both support PCs and Macintosh.

Their basics specs are also very comparable. The Eizo offers 0.27(mm) pixel pitch, 400:1 contrast ratio, 250 cd/m2 brightness, and 170-degree viewing angles. The only difference is that the Samsung's contrast ratio is listed at a slightly better 500:1.

Display quality is excellent on both models. With our test units, the Eizo LX985EX's contrast held up just slightly better under the brightest settings. The difference wasn't enough to really even be noticeable except under intense scrutiny. Other than that, you would be hard pressed to see any noticeable difference in quality between these two giant LCD displays.

The 21.3-inch size at 1600 by 1200 resolution is near perfection. Some other resolution/screen size combinations leave users squinting at their screens. For example, I have trouble with anything higher resolution than 1280 x 1024 on a traditional 20-inch LCD. And the extra screen real estate permits side-by-side open windows, such as your email program and word processor or browser and HTML editor. Comparing the content of two windows, copying and pasting between, and other two-window usages no longer require constant window switching. For me, this provides a huge productivity boost. Once you work this way, you'll never want to go back. That primary benefit is delivered equally by these LCD models.

What's Different
The two main differences between the Eizo and Samsung 21.3-inch LCDs boil down to marketing. Eizo is one of the best names in monitors, and the company's products are aimed at business and professional settings. Samsung, meanwhile, is focused on selling to consumers. It's building a huge following for its LCDs, but it doesn't have Eizo's shiny reputation among graphics pros. Visibly, they're very similar. The Samsung 213T has rounded corners, and it's all-plastic base and stand are less durable. But it's the prices that really set these two otherwise similar LCDs apart. The Samsung is something like $800 less on the street at about $1,050. (On eBay, this model routinely sells "new in box" for $900.) You won't find the Eizo L985EX sold routinely on eBay; and the cheapest price I could find for it from online retailers was about $1,850.

The Samsung also has much better controls than the Eizo. While overall it offers fewer features and settings, the 213T provides all the ones I want. And using the Samsung's controls is logical enough that you won't need to refer to a manual. That's a good thing, too, because the Samsung doesn't come with a manual. (There is only a booklet that accompanies the 213T's Pivot software).

In addition to being complex, the Eizo's controls are very difficult to read. The black cut-out buttons are the same color as the case area that surrounds them, and their function labels or words are lightly embossed. I found them difficult to discern even with my nose pressed up against them. On the plus side, the Eizo actually comes with a manual. It didn't answer all my questions, but what's there is useful information.

If you're using the DVI connection with a digital video card (which is how I tested the two displays for this review), the likelihood that you'll need the onscreen controls reduces dramatically. The only thing I adjusted on either one was the brightness -- and it was one-time adjustment. In both cases, I turned the brightness down, by the way. If you're using an older LCD, you may be surprised about that. LCDs have improved markedly over the last three years, especially on brightness.

A small thing I like a lot better about the Eizo is that its screen elevates about two inches higher than the Samsung. That places the screen more at eye level for me. It also makes the space under the display more usable on my desktop. The Samsung 213T's base compounds the space problem by being curved on its top, so flat objects you might place there (pads, pens, tissue box, stapler, whatever) tend to roll off. The Eizo's two flat feet make the space more usable.

Best Value
Given a choice between these two monitors, I'd pick them both. [Editor's Note: Now there's a surprise. --Cyndy.] But the cost difference and the fact that the trade-offs are minor or in some cases tilt in the Samsung's favor make picking the 213T very easy. The Samsung 213T offers equal display quality and better controls at a significantly lower price. When you're spending your own money, there's no contest.

In a professional environment, Eizo's longer five-year warranty (Samsung offers three years), beefier construction, the company's quality reputation, and a long list of mounting options makes the FlexScan L985EX a leading contender.

What is it consumer advocates like to say ... vote with your dollars? I did that: I bought a brand new Samsung 213T on eBay for $850. The 213T is a keeper.

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ZoneAlarm Pro version 5.1.011 (released July 29, 2004):

ZoneAlarm Pro version 5.0.590.043 (released June 21, 2004):

While I haven't tested this extensively, if you held off on it earlier, now is probably a good time to download and try the latest version of ZoneAlarm. Set a System Restore point first just be safe.

Microsoft's Office 2003 SP1
Last Tuesday, Microsoft released the first major service pack update for Office 2003. From what I can tell, this is little more than a security patch roll-up to make it easy for corporations to keep Office 2003 up to date. Whatever you might think of its feature set, Office 2003 has been less buggy than most new Office releases. But if you're running it, you might want to consider Service Pack 1. InfoPath and OneNote users will definitely want this one, by the way. So here are the links you need to get up to speed on it before you decided to install:

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IMPORTANT: The tips in this document require the use command-line commands. For more information about how to read and execute Linux command-line prompts and commands, please check the Linux Clues' Linux Cheat Sheet, especially Linux Prompt Basics and Linux Command-Line Nomenclature.

Copy and Paste
If you thought copying and pasting in Windows was easy, you're going to love Linux. Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V may seem intuitive now -- but it probably took a while for them to become muscle memory. Yes, those same shortcuts work in Linux, but like a lot of tasks, Linux simplifies them further, particularly for those who don't enjoy keyboard shortcuts.

Use your cursor to select the text you want to copy. In Linux, that automatically copies the text to the clipboard. Next, navigate to wherever you wish to paste it (another program or desktop, to the console or terminal, etc.) Then push down and click the wheel on your wheel mouse to paste. On a three-button mouse without a wheel, just click the middle button to paste.

If your mouse is wheel-less and has only two buttons, then right-click the mouse. This brings up a contextual menu. Select paste and you're done.

Copying and pasting works this way with most mice, Linux distros, and applications, although we can't say it will always work. One exception is OpenOffice. Selecting text doesn't automatically copy it to the clipboard, so you'll have to select the text, then right-click and select copy from the menu. Then right-click again to paste.

Most distros also have a clipboard icon next to the clock (look for an orange icon with a K on it). It remembers the last five copied entries. Just click the icon to bring up a menu and select the entry you want to paste. Then click the wheel to paste it where you want it.

You can also configure the "K" to remember more than just the last five copies. Click the icon and select "Configure Clipper." In the dialog that appears, change the default "Clipboard History Size" to whatever setting you want, up to 25.

Bonus Tip: Copying Configuration Files
If you'd like to copy a full config file to a text file, a single command will do it. This comes in handy if you need another set of eyes to look over your Linux configuration and/or the file is too long to post in a support forum. By copying it to a text file, you can send it as an attachment to your favorite Linux expert.

We're using lilo.conf as our example. Copy the lilo.conf file to lilo.txt by typing this command on the console:

# cat /etc/lilo.conf >lilo.txt

The new Lilo.txt file will then be in your /home directory.

Shorthand
And, in case the crazy days of summer have melted some of your brain cells, here are a couple of quick shorthand tip reminders.

$ cd ..
What It Does: This is shorthand for go back one step in the directory tree (just like in DOS).

$ cd ~
What It Does: This is for /home/bruno; if you've got more than one user, then type cd ~bruno or cd ~anna.

$ cd ~/Downloads/Backgrounds
What It Does: This is for /home/bruno/Downloads/Backgrounds

For really fast typing don't forget the Tab key for auto-completion. We've put the following steps on multiple lines to make clearer what you're supposed to do; however, all the typing will actually appear on a single line on the computer screen.

At the $ prompt, type:

cd~/D

Then press Tab and type:

/B

Then press Tab, followed by Enter.

Another way to represent this might be:

$ cd~/D{press Tab}/B{press Tab}{press Enter}

Pressing the Tab key saves some keystrokes by filling in the directory name. If you had more than one directory beginning with "D" (and yes Linux distinguishes between "D" and "d"), you'll be presented with all the options. The end result is the same as above:

/home/bruno/Downloads/Backgrounds

Sources
Most of the material you find in Tips for Linux Explorers comes from Bruno of Amsterdam, one of the moderators of the popular All Things Linux forum at Scot's Newsletter Forums.

Bruno is helped by All Things Linux co-moderators Peachy and Teacher, as well as other forum members who have posted in the highly useful Tips for Linux Explorers thread (from which LinuxClues.com and the Linux Explorers section of Scot's Newsletter are adapted). Previous installments of Tips for Linux Explorers can be found at LinuxClues.com.

For Linux Explorers is content-edited by Cyndy. (Scot copy edits.)

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The site also has other purposes, which, because I work in the Internet content publishing business, I'm not going to get into (but I'm sure you'll figure out).

Have you discovered a relatively unknown Windows or broadband related website that's a little amazing? Please send me the URL so I can check it out and let everyone know about it.

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Firefox 0.90 (and, yes, that sub-1.0 version numbering means that it's not "finished" yet) is the very best browser alternative to Microsoft's aging Internet Explorer. I've used the Mozilla pre-release product off an on for more than a year, and I've written about it a bit in the past. But the .90 release really shows what this browser will soon become when it's released, probably in September or October (September 14 is the current target date).

If you haven't tried it, you're in for a treat. Among other things, it includes tabbed browsing, pop-up blocking, an IE-like Links bar, customizable toolbars, multiplatform availability (including Linux and Mac OS X), plug-in extensions and themes, built-in Google search, full-fledged IE import, online update notification and updating, and a small download size at 4.7MB for Windows users.

For more information, check in on the Scot's Newsletter Forums Browser & Email Central forum, which started life covering Firefox and its email companion, Thunderbird, exclusively. There are many knowledgeable people running Firefox at SFNL Forums. It's a great place to get information about the new browser

Shortcomings
I have only a couple of small nits to pick with Firefox, and they're pretty inconsequential, but I'd like to see both fixed:

1. When the browser displays a form field, such as a forum post or an email newsletter subscription box, the cursor bar isn't just immediately to the right of the last character you typed. It actually occupies the space of that last character, overlapping it. We're talking about a one-to-two pixel error. So this is a miniscule bug. But I find it disconcerting all the same, and it is a user interface error.

2. Firefox doesn't display Alt tags properly. HTML image tags have an attribute called "alt" that allows webmasters to insert text in the image tag that pops up automatically when site visitors pause their mouse pointers over the image. This feature does not work in Firefox, there is no pop-up at all. (See the second Computer Gripes link below for a demonstration of this problem.)

There is, of course, a more serious downside. Over the last five years, the Web has largely been built with only one browser in mind: Internet Explorer. As a result, websites not developed to open Internet standards (and there are many of those), may not display properly in Firefox. You might have trouble with password/login sites, for example, or any site that requires an ActiveX applet. Windows Update is not going to work with Firefox (or any browser accept IE). In my own tests, though, I had very little problem viewing sites properly with Firefox 0.90. For example, both my company's Nortel VPN-based intranet and my online banking site loaded fine.

For more information on sites Firefox has issues with, see these specific pages on Link of the Week Award-winning Computer Gripes:

Bottom Line
I've read a lot of reviews of Firefox, and most contain praise. But to me all have missed the essential value of this product. Although it doesn't look exactly like the browser that well over 90 percent of the world is used to -- Internet Explorer -- in most cases it acts like it. The user interface, although not as polished as Microsoft's, is in almost every regard improved with extended controls and features that make a huge difference. Mozilla may be the only company in a position to outdo Microsoft at its own game -- especially given that the software giant appears to be complacent about developing Internet Explorer. I'm not saying that Mozilla is likely to gain significant market share ground on Microsoft. But even a five-percent gain would likely to spur Redmond to rethink its utter neglect of Internet Explorer.

Here's hoping that, along with the user-interface improvements Microsoft will likely make if they turn their attention to it, they will also update IE to fully comply with Internet standards.

In the mean time, many of us may have found a new browser we can stick with. Firefox deserves our support. Mozilla's latest effort is finally an honest, out-and-out, full-bore competitor to IE and Opera. Give Firefox a try. And let me know what you think about it.

Have you found a little-known freeware or shareware program that solves a specific Windows or broadband problem extremely well? I'm looking for diamonds in the rough, software that begs to be discovered, utilities that can save your bacon. This isn't about mainstream applications, folks! It's about software many of us might not have heard about before, or that just doesn't get enough attention. IMPORTANT: Please include a link to the software-maker's site, not some big download place. Also: 30-day full-featured trialware programs are acceptable, but freeware will get preference. And simpler programs that do one thing well are far more likely to be selected as Program of the Month. Please tell me about your personal favorite, what it does, and why you like it.

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Firefox offers the exact same control and menu location for margin settings, but I have no trouble printing SFNL pages from Firefox in its default Page Setup settings.

One caveat, printing-related issues are hard to generalize about. The default printer installed for Windows affects the printing defaults for your browser and all Windows programs installed on your PC. So, your mileage might vary. But some experimenting with Page Setup is likely to solve the problem for you.

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Last time I said I might skip the August issue to give myself a summer vacation. Well clearly that didn't happen. There's a chance it still could happen with either the September or October issue. Or one of those two issues could wind up being abbreviated.

You can always find out when the next issue of Scot's Newsletter is expected to appear by visiting the Scot's Newsletter home page.

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