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Monday January 24, 2000

Short Shrift time again...

Dear Jerry,

Regarding your troubles adding a Win2000 Pro workstation to your domain: The quickest way to join a domain, with both NT4 and Win2000, -usually encountered when installing a new machine to your network, requires 2 main steps.

1) At the domain server, you must give a user the right to add members to the domain - in the User Manager For Domains (looks like you may have already done that in your case), - this right is not given to anyone by default.

2) When you are installing a new Win2000 workstation, during the Network installation section of the install, don't select the "typical settings" button, always take the custom option, wherein thereafter you will be given choices, and among them the choice to join a domain. To join the domain, you need to enter the user and password for the one you gave the rights to in the above step.

This all assumes you are installing "manually" (no unattended scripts, etc.), and as a note, you will have to make sure that you have the proper IP and DNS info for your network entered BEFORE you try to join the domain, I seem to have had several instances where NT would allow me to skip entering any network info before trying to sign on to the domain, which would of course result in a hang until it finally realized it couldn't talk to any domain server (especially happens if you are using static IPs instead of DHCP).

This procedure can also be applied later, from the settings options under the my computer properties as you described in your notes, but you can save a step and an extra reboot if you use the above method. Hope this helps for future installs.

-Jn-

Jeff G Newell, Network Services TimeFrame, Inc. (907) 677-2321 jnewell@tframe.com <mailto:jnewell@tframe.com> www.tframe.com <http://www.tframe.com>

Good Advice: but when installing a Windows 2000 Professional (workstation) to a net, it can all be done from the new machine. The Wizard offers you one and only one chance; if you don't do it then, you must use PROPERTIES at the Network ID tap, and of course you have to have administrator privileges and password on the Domain you are adding to. It is all actually pretty simple, but you do have to touch the bases in order.


Dr Pournelle,

You may already know of this, but in case you don't, here goes:

The National Institute of Standards has a web site which features a section devoted to mathematical constants. It has some very interesting things, all collected in one place.

I found out about it in the latest issue ( March 2000 ) of Astronomy magazine, pg 34.

the address is http://physics.nist.gov/constants

Jim Snover

Thanks!


That Atlantic article [see last week's MAIL and VIEW] on how Microsoft develops software clarified an issue that is frequently argued on comp.lang.C++.moderated--why MSVC++ is so deficient relative to the new standard. (See <http://animal.ihug.co.nz/c++/compilers.html>). I can only conclude that MSVC++ as Microsoft's in-house C++ compiler is only sold retail as an afterthought and is written to meet the requirements of Microsoft's inhouse developers. Those developers do not make extensive use of the advanced features of the new standard, and so the standard is only implemented in a spotty fashion in their corporate tool.

Motorola recently bought out Metrowerks, primarily based on their compiler support for embedded systems. The continued interest at Metrowerks in standards compliance suggests that Motorola and its software vendors make a somewhat greater use of the advanced features of the standard.

--- Harry Erwin, PhD, <mailto:herwin@gmu.edu>, <http://mason.gmu.edu/~herwin>, Senior SW Analyst and Adjunct Professor of Computer Science, George Mason University.

Interesting. Thanks. 


Jerry - I hope this is of use to you. After three years of work, I've just posted a web site about the Internet, how it was invented, how it works, how to use it, advanced usage, troubleshooting, and related information. It has a separate section on the Internet, and one on each of the net's six main technologies: Email, the Web, Usenet, IRC, MUD's, and mailing lists.

The site is designed to be useful for new users, and interesting to experienced Internauts. The address is:

http://livinginternet.com/ 

I hope you enjoy it. All the best,

Bill Stewart <billstew@livinginternet.com >

Have not had a chance to look but I bet I get reader reports...


Howdy Jerry,

Was wondering which Tyan M-Brd you purchased?

I bought a Tyan S1590S Trinity 100 AT Socket 7 board w/ 1MB Level 3 cache &; w/ a K6-3/450 last summer. Really like it. Found that the K6-3 created timing problems w/ Win95. So AMD sent me 2, count 'em, 2 free copies of Win98 Upgrade to fix the problem. Have compared it directly w/ the Pentium III 450/500 &; find it is just as fast, if not faster &; am extremely pleased. I am thinking of giving to my kids in another case &; building myself a new system w/ an Athlon, however, I can't use a Tyan board because they don't build a slot A board now. Any suggestions?

I found Tyan's documentation to be very good on my board, although there had been obvious corrections to the manual prior to printing.

Have a good week. Later.

Greg Lenderink, aka, CyberRanger -- CyberRanger - cybrrngr@frii.com - Rangers Lead the Way! "The CyberRanger's AO" - http://www.frii.com/~cybrrngr/ao "Larimer County 4-Wheel Drive Club, Inc. - The Mountaineers" http://www.mountaineers4x4.org - #17 -'71 Chevy K20,'70 Jeep CJ-5 NRA - http://www.nra.org

I have the TYAN S1857 Trinity 371 but I have not yet had a chance to bring it up. There is a misprint in the Panel Connector instructions. Fortunately those are all signal voltages so no damage will be done if I get them wrong. I think I have them right except the HDD LED. I'll bring it up tonight after I write some fiction.


Hello Jerry,

I just ordered "The Burning City" and Fletcher Pratt's "The Battles that Changed History" (on your recommendation) from Barnes &; Noble. While ordering, I noticed that Pratt will have a new book out soon titled "Lost Battalion". I was wondering if you or any of your readers know anything about this book. ?? B&;N didn't have any information other than the planned publishing date.

Clyde Wisham Noli Permittere Illegitimi Carborundum

Don't know the book, but Pratt never wrote a dull one. Thanks for the Burning City Order. Hope a LOT of people do that. Let's get it on a best seller list before it is published!


From: Lawrence A. Husick [mailto:Lawrence@LawHusick.com] Sent: Monday, January 24, 2000 4:57 PM Subject: Joke: Copyright Law, Explained

And to think... I went to law school and could not have said it this well on the final exam...

When you write copy, you own copyright on the copy you write, if the copy is right (and if if the copy is not right.) If however, your copy falls over, you must right your copy. If you write religious services you write rite, and you own a copyright for the rite you write. Very conservative people write right copy, and own copyright for the right copy they write. A right wing cleric would write right rite, and owns copyright for the right rite he has the right to write. His editor has the job of making the right rite copy right before the copyright can be truly right. Should Thom Wright decide to write right rite, then Wright would write right rite, for which Wright owns copyright. Duplicating that rite would copy Wright right rite, and infringe copyright, which Wright would have the right to right. Right? 

Lawrence A. Husick LIPTON, WEINBERGER &; HUSICK Intellectual Property and Technology Law Lawrence@LawHusick.com  http://www.LawHusick.com  P.O. Box 587 Southeastern, PA 19399-0587 610/296-8259 Voice 610/296-5816 Fax AOL/Netscape IM: LawHusick

"It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry." * Albert Einstein (1879-1955) - Autobiographical Notes

********************************************************************** This electronic message transmission contains information from the law firm of Lipton, Weinberger &; Husick which may be confidential or privileged. The information is intended to be for the use of the individual(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient, please be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this message is prohibited. If you have received this electronic transmission in error, please notify us by electronic mail (PostMaster@LawHusick.com ) immediately, before we get in really big trouble. If you fail to be intimidated by this notice, we will get angry, stamp our feet, and hold our breath until we turn blue. Thank you. ********************************************************************** (Official-Looking Notice V1.5fc3)


 

 

 

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Tuesday, January 25, 2000

Subject: Pratt's Lost Battalion

Of course, a "new" book by an author who has been dead over forty years is likely to be a reissue. In this case, The Lost Battalion by Pratt and Thomas was originally issued in 1938. It is said (at www.bibliofind.com) to be, "The story of the U.S. 77th division in the Argonne Forrest in WW1." The first edition came with "many maps and photos." Let's hope the reissue does too. 

Carrington Dixon

Ah. I recall the book now. Thanks


I have mail in INTERNET SHOPPING including a good essay on the subject. Stand by: I'll get a special reports page up soon enough. For the moment:

Jerry,

After many years still very much enjoy you columns.

Your experience at Fry's and then on the Internet, (1/17/00), trying to get a motherboard is an experience I have had all too often. Taking 3 hours to find and purchase the item you want, in my opinion is an Internet deficiency not necessary. I don't understand how Web Site designers think. Maybe its more economically driven than I know.

I remember last year reading e-mail criticism you got on you site. I thought most of the comments were short sited and ego driven. Or should I say "idiot driven". I like your approach very much. I can move around quickly and it doesn't take half a day to find something. Wish other designers would take some lessons from your approach.

I don't what anyone says, I especially like your "blimp".

One thing I am trying to find, is what book you consider the all around best reference book for windows 98.

Keep up the good work.

Ron

Probably the best Windows 98 reference work is Que's "Special Edition", but their Windows 2000 and Office 2000 works suck dead bunnies... Thanks for the kind words.


Mebbe your troubles with the Microsoft applications when switching to W2k beta were due to the fact that until recently, Word &; Excel certainly weren't what MS itself calls "standard applications". The senior MS W2k applications manager speaking at TechEd conferences late in 1998 advised the world including my notebook that the appfolks at Redmond had been writing just as much "cowboy code" as any other group; and more than most. This showed up most with DLL files.

W2k declines to load apps with non-standard DLLs. Its new app standard calls for "clean" applications -- the new jargon. I gather it implies that cleanliness is next to DLL files that move unswervingly from the path of righteousness. Possibly those apps on your machine, weren't clean. The fact that MS made them strengthens this suggestion rather than weakens it.

I already have in place my future final-W2k workstation, and have loaded no applications on it at all. Won't until I have the final OS code in there. I've been running W2k betas for nigh on 18 months, and remain most enthusiastic about the product.

Kind regards, I value your continuing reports. Thank you! -- paul lynch

Paul Kunino Lynch 4/36-38 Bayswater Road Kings Cross Australia 2011 02-9368 0809 +612 9368 0809 ... phone &; fax

Once I got them installed right, Office 2000 works just fine with Windows 2000 and all is quite fast and crisp. I still like Windows 2000.  Roland tells me that Niven is being upgraded to Office 2000 now, so I will probably dump Office 97 on just about everything...


I ran across this article today. http://news.com/Perspectives/Soapbox/rs12_30_97a.html

 Given your attitude about the DOJ Monopoly lawsuit, I was curious to know what your opinion of this article was. Please notice the date it was posted. I read your column on Byte weekly and have become an avid fan. Keep up the good work.

Thank you, Scott Brown

I never in my dreams thought Microsoft hadn't been pretty "harmful" to COMPETITORS including people who were certain they had "better" products. It's CONSUMERS that it's much harder to show were harmed, and I don't think this fellow's complaint, which is a bit sad, establishes how you and I were done in, although he certainly was. 

I have always thought Traveling Software and Artisoft had some good networking ideas, and certainly Windows for Work Groups finished off Artisoft in networking and very nearly did in Traveling (although their latest LapLink is definitely worth buying if you need remote control). But I also think I am better off to have networking "free" in the operating system...


> Will someone tell me how to do an automatic replay in Outlook 2000 (not express, the big one, the real thing). None of the books has any reference whatever to replies, automatic replies, automatic messages or any other way a sane person might look this up. The Rules Wizard wants me to refer to a file with an extension of .oft, and a search shows that I have three such in a folder in Program Files under Office Templates. Clearly they are "office templates". Now try to find any reference to them, what you can edit them with, or how to create a automatic message to be sent.

Assuming you want to use your existing .oft auto-reply message, just create a rule that filters the one's you want to autoreply to, e.g. those to jerryp@jerrypournelle.com. When you're creating the rule, specify the action as "Reply using a specific template". Click the underlined part and pick the .oft file that has the message you want to reply with.

If you want to create the reply message afresh, just create it as a normal new mail message in Outlook, and then choose Save-As. In the drop-down list at the bottom of the dialog that appears, choose Office Template (*.oft), give it a name, and save it in whichever folder you wish.

-- Robert Bruce Thompson thompson@ttgnet.com http://www.ttgnet.com

The old oft files got lost in the reinstallation; at least there are none here. It sure would be nice if those jokers would DOCUMENT any of that. Grr.

Anyway, that works if you don't use WORD as your reply document. You need to go into options, uncheck WORD, then go create the reply .oft file, then you can go back and use WORD again. Bah. Silly.

 

 

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Wednesday, January 26, 2000

From: tjcrook@email.com Subject: Spam

Hi Jerry,

Having read of your recent experiences with the DMA opt-out system, I was not surprised when I came across a strong indictment of it at http://mail-abuse.org/ The DMA article is at http://mail-abuse.org/rbl/anti-dma.htm 

Commiserations,

Thomas Crook

Some good information and other links there. Thanks. The DMA is clearly composed of enemies of the Internet. My attempts to use their "opt out" feature have resulted in more spam. Their offices are in New York.

I am coming to the conclusion that the proper thing to do is get a list of all members of the DMA, and blackhole everything they send to anyone at any time. Let them form their own little internet and spam each other, and leave the rest of us alone. I am increasingly weary of having to delete hundreds of messages, most repetitive, every day. There must be a way to make people who send this stuff pay something for doing it.

 

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Thursday,

 

Off to the beach house to write

 

 

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Friday,

Beach

 

 

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Saturday,

Beach House

 

 

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Sunday,

Beach house. Back tomorrow.

 

 

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