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Good morning Paul and good morning everyone... On 29 Nov 99 at 7:46, P&B Fahr wrote: > List members, > It bothers me that people want to "dumb down" the list > use to the least common denominator because a few people > have old software. I could understand if it was > expensive to update your browser and email programs. > But in nearly all cases you can get the latest version > of software that will work with your system FREE. > No one wants to "dumb down" the List. Quite the contrary. E-mail is sent from one computer to another by SMPT Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. This means simply that everything you send on an e-mail will be sent in a SIMPLE text format. If you send anything other than plain text it will be translated to a text format, transmitted, and must be interpreted by the receiver. If we don't all run the same software package with the same interpretation capability thn errors will occur. What we are doing is using the text only (no graphics - GIF's - JPG's etc.) to maintain the intelligence of universality. We serve 1800 members in 37 countries and while the mainstream may use IBM clones running Win95 or better the beauty of this List is that no one HAS to. > > In reference to my "sick pig" picture that apparently > caused some people problems --- that was not an > attachment. It was embedded in the email in HTML > format --- the same as a webpage. I do not like to get > unknown attachments so do not send them. But, I found > out that some email programs --- AOLs seems to be a > biggie --- treats the embedded JPG file as an attachment > even though it did not originate that way. > Almost every software package that is pre 1995 or made by someone other than Micro-Soft is unable to interpret the newer standards of formatting that MS Outlook Express (in particular) applies by default. That is why, from time to time, members are gently chided re: GIF's, JPG's, rich text formatting, HTML encoding, attachments etc. because it can be unintelligible to some members. The members on digest format and on AOL find it particularly annoying because they get bundled messages and it is awkward to delete individual posts. In the worst cases it blocks e-mail at their server and they are required to dial up the help line to straighten it all out. When everyone sets their defaults to plain text only and avoids multi-part formatting this List runs very smoothly. > > It has been stated that attachments to the list are a > no-no but the listserv has not been programmed to reject > them. > True. It has been left as a matter of "netiquette". > > I would suggest that you seriously consider updating > your software. I recently went to Win98 (2nd Edition) > which includes Internet Explorer 5.0 and am amazed how > much better I can work on the internet. > Also true. However, I use a 386 clone with 16Megs of RAM and a 200M hard drive with Win3.1 and Pegasus email client and Opera as the browser. I do this on purpose so that I can support the similarly configured computers that are given to some of our support group. Some of our members are on severely limited incomes and simply do not have the ability to upgrade. > > If you wish to update your system I would suggest the > following websites. > > http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/download/all.htm?bSh > owPage > > This webpage allows you to get information on the latest > version of Internet Explorer for whatever operating > system you presently have (Windows, UNIX, Macintosh). > And you can get Outlook Express which allows you to sort > your email or reject emails with attachments or refuse > emails from certain address etc. In most cases you keep > the same email address you always had with your local > Internet Service Provider --- you just get to use your > email more efficiently. Email is usually part of a > local ISPs package at not extra charge so you can have > that address and still keep your address at AOL or > whoever. Use the local ISP and Outlook Express to > access the PD list. > I deliberately avoid MS Outlook Express because of it's buggy nature, susceptibility to viruses, tendency to default to Rich Text formatting, etc. Pegasus e-mail client also has filters, works extremely efficiently, is dependable etc. (and it is downloadable freeware) Software selection / upgrading is up to the individual and the comfort level of all members is best served by plain text, no pressure to upgrade etc. > > You may not be aware that you can access services like > AOL through your local ISP at reduced rates. I had AOL > access for a long time at $4.95 per month because I used > a local ISP (not one of AOLs phone lines). I do not > know if that low rate is still available. I found I > could get what I wanted from other sources so quit AOL. > Sounds like a decent tip to save a few bucks.... > > Another upgrade option is to log onto: > > http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and click PRODUCT > UPDATES > > They will ask you if you want Microsoft to determine > what updates are available for your computer. That > gives them permission to look at your Windows software > and they then give you a list of updates that are > available. You can then decide which ones you want. If > you select one and say OK it will be downloaded and > installed. Some require rebooting --- others do not. > BUT I WOULD SUGGEST to only select and install ONE > UPDATE AT A TIME. It is also a good idea to restart you > computer after each update whether it tells you to or > not. > Yep. A backup of recent vintage is appropriate too. (Before you start) > > Hope this helps those with older software to update and > get more benefit from the internet and their email. > > Paul > Thanks Paul. I hope this helps those who wish to upgrade too. I also hope people will view this discussion for what it is... simply a sharing of viewpoints. Basically I agree with Paul that running the latest powerful software on the latest powerful hardware is most efficient when browsing the Internet. That said, I think it absolutely essential to maintain the universality of the List by applying the simple protocols of plain text only for our e-mail. Best regards to you all ............ murray [log in to unmask]