Monroe

wsxedcrfv ... on the Acid2 Test, I pretty much see the same thing you see. The face just doesn't quite come together. That's with the K-Meleon browser. If I use IE6, it's all jumbled and bright colors. ... Acid2 Browser Test link: http://www.webstandards.org/action/acid2/#content-main

Thanks cluberti ... no, not too much information at all, thanks for taking the time to explain things. The browser information is a little more clear to me now, maybe others also. I am currently using K-Meleon 1.5.3 and I did get up to a 37/100 reading just now. It was 32/100 earlier today. I am not overly concerned with the low figures, the KM browser does everything I need a browser to do. I'm satisfied with it at this time. It was just an article that I came across this morning and I didn't completely understand some of it. It was all new stuff to me.

Thanks for the input ... I still have IE 6 on my computers, in case it's needed somewhere ... but I am now using K-Meleon as my main browser, I only get a 31-32 out of 100 on the Acid3 Test site. Does the fact that I am using Win 98SE as my OS helping to give me a lower reading on the test? I am certainly no where near 100% as the other browsers are reporting. ... I also use Proxomitron and I did the test with it active and then with it "by-passed", pretty much the same figures either way. thanks ...

Just came across this article dealing with browsers in yesterday's The Washington Post (12/02/2009) .... It talks about a test called The Acid3 Test that browsers should pass but all IE browsers fail. I will post a link here to the article ... would be nice for some input from you guys who might understand all this a lot better than myself ... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...ml?nav=hcmodule and The Acid3 Test site ..... http://acid3.acidtests.org/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Google Backs Away From A Plug-in, Microsoft Rushes Towards One MG Siegler TechCrunch.com Wednesday, December 2, 2009; 1:16 PM Today at their Bing Fall Release event, Microsoft showed off some nice updates to their search engine, including further information about how the much anticipated Twitter and Facebook data integration will work. But by far the most interesting thing they showed was the new beta version of Bing Maps. While it looked very nice, the real reason why it was so interesting is what it requires: Silverlight. This news comes just days after Google's revelation (thanks, in part, to our story on the upcoming Chrome for Mac beta) that they were backing away from supporting Gears in the future, in favor of HTML5. Gears is the software that Google created to allow users to use their applications while not connected to the web. But it's also a plug-in (for all browsers except Google's own Chrome for the PC). This is a big barrier to entry for many users. And it's something that creates problems developing apps around it if say, a user doesn't have Gears installed. So it's good to see Google step away from a plug-in even if it's no longer proprietary (originally called "Google Gears," they have since open-sourced it). And it makes what Microsoft is doing even more frustrating. With Silverlight, Microsoft continues to make it clear that they intend to use this web application framework, which they developed, to power much of what they are doing on the web going forward. Again, the problem here is that not only does Microsoft control this, but it requires a plug-in to use. Sure, they've made the plug-in available to most browsers, including the ones by rivals Google and Apple, but it's still a plug-in. It's something that's going to stop everyone from seeing the same web no matter which browser they use. This has of course long been an issue with Microsoft. Despite a clear shift within the rest of the industry toward web standards, Microsoft long played difficult with its Internet Explorer browser. They could afford to, and maybe you could even argue that it was in their interest to, because they were so dominant. It was only when a standards-based browser, Mozilla's Firefox, started biting off significant chunks of IE's market share that Microsoft shifted their position to play more nicely with standards. But even today, they still don't play that nicely. As you can see in this video about IE9, they are still nowhere near passing the Acid3 browser test. Safari, Opera, and Chrome have all now achieved 100/100 scores on the test. Firefox has gotten a 96/100. IE? Well IE8 (the current version) gets a 20/100. And IE9, which isn't out yet, only gets a 32/100. You can try to argue (which Microsoft does) that much of the test is meaningless to everyday browsing, but the fact remains that all its major competitors are able to pass it or are on the verge of passing it. A humorous aside about the video linked to above is that while it's a talk about Microsoft's commitments to standards and interoperability with IE9, you need Silverlight to play it. When asked about Microsoft's shift towards requiring Silverlight for applications such as the new Bing Maps, officials from the company basically stated that they're doing it because they had to. AJAX, the technology that powers many of the other web apps in existance today, simply isn't powerful enough to do what they want, they reason ? continuing on that it's not about using a proprietary technology, but using the best technology out there. The problem with this once again goes back to the idea of a unified web. If some web apps require plug-ins, the web is not going to be as seamless as it should be. And that's why HTML5 is potentially so interesting. Because advanced components such as web video, which is now mainly powered by Adobe's Flash plug-in, could be handled natively within the browser. (Here's an example of a YouTube video rendered only with HTML5.) Can Silverlight allow for more powerful web applications than standard web technology? Probably. Does the new Bing Maps look cool with seamless transitions between a map view and on-the-street city view? Yes. But another issue is: Do we really need that? How often are you doing to need (or want) to zoom around a city with 3D buildings when you really just want to look up an address? It's a neat feature, just as it is within Google Street View or Google Earth, but it's not really all that practical. The majority of location searches I do are on my phone where I simply want to get an address as fast as possible. I actually just had to double check if the iPhone has Street View built-in (it does) because I never, ever use that feature. Nor do I ever really use it on the desktop. It's useful for some select cases, like maybe if you're buying a house and want to get a look at the neighborhood. But otherwise, it's just a nifty feature to demo ? which Microsoft did extensively today. Again, I'm not saying it's not cool. It is. But I'm not sure it's worth trading the possibility of a unified web for. In fact, I know it's not. Sadly, with Microsoft, the problem is only going to get worse, and not better. They've made that very clear.

I found a post (02/16/2009) from MDGx in the "WPI Classic For Legacy OS'es" topic in the Windows 98SE board. He gives some thoughts on .NET Framework v2 in the form of a rant dealing with some software ... a little insight on .NET Framework. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [rant] Paint.NET is just another project by a programmer who wants really bad to be noticed and get a job with M$, showing off the features of NET framework. This kind of graphics editor/viewer program can very well be programmed in C++, MFC or even VB or Borland [depending on what features you want], there is no need for any1 to install 20+ MB of NET APIs [and a load of bug-fixes afterwards] just to run Paint.NET and eventually a handful of other NET programs. One can even use Sun's Java [free, open source] to program platform independent complex software, take for example OpenOffice and Vuze [formerly known as Azureus], also free(ware). As far as graphics editors/viewers are concerned, please compare with Irfan View, the best one around [among free(ware) anyway]. This only happens because M$ chose NET as *the* solution for the "better" programming of tomorrow, at the expense of loading more unnecessary "bloat" upon users' computers. BTW: Did you notice how long it takes to install NET 2.0 on Win98 SE [1.4 GHz P3 CPU]? At least 5 minutes... and guess why? because of bazillion of redundant checks, folders, files [and temporary install folders + files] and registry entries. [/rant] About Nero: I'm using Nero 7 [in XP SP3 = came with a DVD burner I bought], and as far as I'm concerned, it is the best CD/DVD burning tool around [commercial sad.gif]. Haven't tried newer builds. And you're right, no need to spend money on another burner program, there are so many free(ware) out there. Best wishes. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I really don't know about .NET Framework v1.1 ... I decided to install v1.1 only and forget about v2 ... unless I actually heard something later on that v2 should also be installed. As I said before, I've only had a couple of software programs actually requiring v2 to be installed ... but I was able to search and find other programs that were just as good. Maybe someone who really knows the workings of Win 98SE can clear all this up, once and for all. Is .NET Framework v2 ( or .NET Framework v1.1, for that matter) really needed on Win 98SE?

You are asking an interesting question that I have wondered about for some time ... should .Net Framework v2 be installed on a Windows 98SE machine? I have .Net Framework v1.1 installed on my machines but I didn't see the need for installing v2. I have only run into software, maybe twice, that required .Net Framework v2 to be installed. I would just look around for another software program that was close or even better, that didn't require the v2 of .Net Framework. Like you said, the file is really large and I just wasn't crazy about the idea of putting those files on my 98SE machine. I have the download saved on a CD, just in case one day I might need it for something or would want to fool around with it. I have a Ghost backup of all my machines so I could easily return to just having .Net Framework v1.1 installed, if I decided v2 wasn't working right or not really necessary. I wanted to start a separate thread about whether v2 really needs to be installed on a Windows 98SE ... maybe with your question we can get some good answers and facts to both.

Well, a simple solution was found and my computer now says I have Windows 98 with IE 6 at the test web sites or if I need it to say Windows 98 for some reason. I have Proxomitron on my computer for web filtering ... I use the Sidki Filter Set and just go with whatever he has in the set. After a lot of help from dencorso and the User Agent downloads he has provided ... I was ready to call it a night and then I thought about Proxomitron and maybe checking the "Bypass" mode and then test at those web sites. There it was .... Windows 98 and IE 6 ... Site 01 .... Browser IE 6.0 ->Detail run on Windows 98 Compare to other services: UA profiler IE 6.0 Browser Capabilities Project IE 6.0 run on Win98 UserAgentString.com Browser: Internet Explorer 6.0 run on Windows 98 WURFL Palm run on Palm OS Site 02 ... Browser Identification This is the identification string sent by the browser to the server: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; FDM) From this string the following informations were extracted: browser_name_regex: ^mozilla/4\.0 (compatible; msie 6\.0; .*windows 98.*).*$ browser_name_pattern: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; *Windows 98*)* parent: IE 6.0 platform: Win98 browser: IE version: 6.0 majorver: 6 win32: YES frames: YES iframes: YES So the very first User Agent download set supplied by dencorso in July 2009 should work for everything. I have tried it today ... just have to remember to check Bypass in Proxomitron if you might be using the Sidki Filter Set. I have no idea if the "default" set by Scott Lemon would also change the OS id at a web site. We got a real good Super Moderator here, dencorso, for helping forum people out. He went more than an extra mile! *** dencorso has since informed me that the 2nd User Agent update in Post # 148 is the better one to use. thanks, duffy98

dencorso, Well, I just tried the 98-IE6 download and I am still getting XP as my OS. It does show IE6 ... that always changes between IE6 and IE7, just not the OS. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1) Browser IE 6.0 ->Detail run on Windows XP ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I replied to your pm ... thanks.

dencorso, CharlesF, anyone ... those registry settings that you (CharlesF) supplied in your last post ... the ones that will make a browser show Win 98SE or Win 98 with IE 6 ... I am not exactly sure what to do with them. Do they need to be manually changed each time I might want to show Win 98Se - IE 6 ... that will take forever, it seems, to switch back to Win 98. dencorso, did you read the top part of the last post from CharlesF, in reference to you. I was wondering if you came up with any new ideas why the 98 - IE 6 registry fix isn't working. Is it possible to put the registry fix that CharlesF supplied in his last post into one of those registry fixes that you make. I do not know how you make those little quick registry change files. thanks ....

CharlesF ... Thanks for the information ... I will try to work with it later today. I am able to see that IE 6 and IE 7 will change but the OS is always XP when I go to those web sites. thanks

BSPlayer v2.43 can be found at File Hippo .... several versions are there on the right side of the page. http://www.filehippo.com/download_bsplayer/

dencorso, From your last post ... "Check, please, what values does you registry have under HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion (there should be none, but for the inevitable "Default", and this should be empty)." Yes, I have everything showing just as you say it should be ... current version "default" says: (value not set). Ok, thanks for the help and all the good posts ... duffy98

dencorso, Thanks for explaining how your default user agent works. However, when I go to certain sites that tell you what OS and browser you are using, I keep getting XP as my OS. I am not sure why this is happening ... before I posted my last message I did research on Google what a Win 98 - IE 6 user agent should be and how to install it manually with regedit. Site 01 : http://www.mg55.net/browser Site 02 : http://tdb.rpc1.org/ ...... go all the way to the very bottom of the web page and there is a box telling you what OS is on your machine. Site 03 : http://www.richmcgrew.com/id.html Site 04 : http://www.labinacell.ac.uk/people/dan/browser.php Site 05 : http://kluge.in-chemnitz.de/tools/browser.php I downloaded and installed the Win 98 user agent in your new User Agent Update package and I am still getting XP as my OS when I go to the first 2 sites. I am not sure about KernelEX. I just installed it on one of my computers in the last 2 weeks, not sure if it was this one or not. However, I was working with a manual Win 98 - IE 6 User Agent before that and still getting XP as my OS. The IE 7 does change back to IE 6 but the OS stays at XP. I have two other computers that I will try your download out on. Thanks again for the download and the addition of the Win 98 User Agent string. Maybe some others could see what those first two sites read as their OS. If you have 98 or 98SE and they tell you that then I'd like to know. *** I just used the test page in your last message ... I also get XP there as my OS ... with IE 6. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1) Browser IE 6.0 ->Detail run on Windows XP -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- thanks, duffy98

dencorso, Awhile back you added a download of several User Agents that would mask the fact that IE 6 was actually being used. The "default" one will take one back to IE 6 but also showing XP as the OS. I use Win 98SE with IE 6 ... would it be possible for you to make a Win 98SE - IE 6 "default" program so that I might have that handy to install if I would need to? I am currently using the IE 7 with XP download that you provided. Works fine but I'd like to be able to go back to Win 98SE - IE 6 if an update page somewhere would require that information. thanks ... duffy98

submix8c ... your link is OK to the Free Version page but the download link on the page doesn't work for me. The link that I posted earlier to tucows will get the same 2.5 version however, for anyone interested.

Yes submix8c, that's what started me searching on Google earlier today. I was reading an article about "PCHealth" being on XP, so I decided to see if there was anything like it for Windows 98SE. I came across PC Health Optimizer that was listed as working with Windows 98SE. I got the download at this site: tucows http://www.tucows.com/preview/520858 The site you provided doesn't seem to offer the free version, just the one that cost money but has more tools. I was interested in checking the program out ... I really don't need it but this one part of the program had my interest, a System Restore program. I wanted to see if it really worked with Windows 98SE and if so, how it worked. I'm always hunting around for Windows 98SE software, free or not, just to see what's out there .... but I always like to download and try anything free, have come across a lot of nice software through the years. From the web site that you provided ... looks like Windows 98SE could actually have a System Restore program after all these years ... not real sure about that but it reads that way. Using Rescue Clinic Another important aspect of PCHO is the included Rescue Clinic application. This application is like an Emergency Room for your computer. It can backup and restore your system to previous points. You can back up just your registry OR create a complete system restore point. If something happens to your system files in the future you can come back here to restore it to your last backup with ease. Rescue Clinic includes these functions: # Registry Backup and Restore Creates a backup of your entire registry or just the user settings. # System Backup and Restore Creates a complete backup of your entire system. Backing up and restoring your registry To create a registry backup, click "Registry Backup" on the left side. Then click "Backup". Then choose whether you want to backup the entire registry OR just your current user settings from the registry. Then click OK. The backup will then be performed and will be viewable in the Backup List. To restore a backup, simply select its entry in the Backup list and click Restore. Backing up and restoring your system To create a system restore point in Windows 98/XP, click "System Restore" on the left side. Then click "Create Restore Point". Then wait while the system creates the restore point. The new restore point entry will be viewable in the System Restore list. To completely revert your computer back to a previous state, simply select its entry in the System Restore list and click Restore. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As to the DLL installation problem that I am getting for the "Free" 2.5 version. I re-installed the program again and this is the message window that pops up. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Error Found in Procedure Set TransparentForm of Module ClsFunction at Line 55 Error No: 453 Error Description: Can't Find DLL entry point Set Layered Window Attributes in user 32 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ** I might add that the program actually goes on to open up after hitting OK on the error popup window. I haven't tried anything ... I wanted to fix that annoying popup window first or check out an earlier version that doesn't throw up the error window. Like I said, I like looking for and trying out any programs for Windows 98SE, but I'm a little curious about that System Restore program for Win 98SE. If anyone is using an earlier free version of this program with Windows 98SE and they didn't have a problem with it when they installed it, I'd like to know what version that is or if anyone knows the solution to that popup error window that I am getting ... let me (everybody) know. thanks, duffy98

Came across this utilities program today. This version is supposed to work with 95 through Vista. However, after installing v2.5 and starting the program, a little window pops up saying that a DLL is missing or can't be found. Just curious if anyone is using this program and what version you are using. Maybe a few versions back would be a better version to work with Windows 98SE. I didn't see this program listed in "the last program versions that work with Windows 98SE". It is a series of utilities .... brief description below. Anybody with Pros or Cons on this program? PC Health Optimizer Free Edition is a unique set of over 10 maintenance tools to improve system performance and security. This free suite of utilities never expires and corrects problems in many areas of your computer including hard disks, memory, registry and more. Besides giving your computer optimum performance, Anti-Spyware is included in the suite to give you the protection you need. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- extra ... I just saw this version (2.5) listed at another download site and only XP through Vista is listed as the OS that this version is for. Probably another one of these programs that some sites haven't updated the OS list. Still I would like to know if anyone is using this program with Windows 98SE and what version are you using? There is also a paid version with more tools included but it's the "free" version that I am really interested in. thanks, duffy98

Hi ... Got a question about exactly how do I use these Win 98 Driver Packs? I downloaded all seven packs and unzipped them into seven Pack folders. I planned to just burn the unzipped folders to a cd just to have the drivers handy if ever needed. How are these driver packs meant to be used? I'm just not sure how I would get a driver out of them if I needed one. Do I have to install the packs on my computer in someway (which I don't want to do!) or just search the cd somehow? Just not sure what I am looking at or how to use these downloads. Also, is there a way to look at these packs just to see what drivers are in there ... I get the impression that every driver for Win 98 is in those seven downloads. Is this correct? thanks ... duffy

I ran into something a few days ago that I had never heard of before in relation to Windows 98SE. I downloaded a defrag program from File Hippo to try out ... O&O Defrag 2000 ... it is listed as working with Windows 9x/2000/XP/2003. However, when I went to install the program it stopped with a message that I needed to have the latest version of Microsoft Management Console installed. In all the years I've been using Windows 98SE, I had never had this message appear for any software install. I also had never heard of MS Management Console. I went to Google and found that you can check to see if you have MS Management Console installed on your computer by going to Start/Run and type in MMC ... nothing was found. Also at Google I found a version for Windows 98SE at the Microsoft website ... version 1.2 ..... http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...88-faa8cc8b475b I have installed that version but the O&O Defrag 2000 still will not install ... it's looking (I think) for a newer version of MS Management Console ... of which there is none for Windows 98SE ... all I could find at the MS Website was the 1.2 version. I don't need the O&O Defrag 2000 anyway, just wanted to see how it worked. However, I am curious now about MS Management Console and if anyone can shed some light on how important it really is. As I said earlier, I have installed through the years many, many software programs to use and try out but never ran into this requirement and MMC was not installed on my computer, when I ran the check. It has never been in any "unofficial" updates I guess or I probably would have had it installed on my machine sometime in the last 5 years or so. Now that I have it installed, it does show up when I go to Start/Run and type in MMC. So again to anyone, what exactly is MS Management Console and of what real importance is it to Windows 98SE since most software programs don't seem to need it anyway? thanks, duffy98

No, I actually have have been around for a few years or more ... I've posted before asking for help on a few things and always someone ( or several people ) would have the answer I needed but I never remember anything going more than one page. I feel like I posted something "important" this time, ... 7 pages so far. I had no idea what that simple question would lead too, it's all very interesting, just wish I understood most of it but I don't do web pages and such, but I do understand much more about IE6 and all the problems the browser has.

Hi Everyone ... Wow ... when I first posted the YouTube / IE6 situation some time back, I got quick help and learned about a "User Agent" and got information on various browsers ... of which I decided on K-Meleon. A very fast, lean browser which I like very much. I also decided to keep IE6 as a backup or to use occasionally. I got the "User Agent" download from this thread to fool the web sites about IE6. ... Just want to say, I have continued reading everything posted on this thread after "my problems" were solved. It is all really interesting but way over my head ... I had no idea when I posted my original question what it would all lead to ... pages of discussions. Like I said, I keep reading every new post, but I fell out of the back of the pickup truck several pages back! Keep posting, probably interesting to many people who understand it all and I might just pick up on something myself.

In case anyone might be interested I spent the week trying out several different browsers ... didn't care for Sea Monkey, FireFox and a few others ... decided K-Meleon v1.5.3 seem to work the best for me ... I had trouble customizing Sea Monkey, FireFox and the others to my liking ... having only used Internet Explorer versions since 1998 when I got my first computer ... I found it hard to adjust to Sea Monkey and FireFox but K-Meleon seem to be the best for me on that subject. ... it was easy for me to work with and get settings more to my liking and it does seem to be faster over the other browsers, at least it seemed that way to me, I'm not saying it is faster, might be my imagination. I still have some things that I have to work on but the K-Meleon setup I have running now will work for me, I hope to fine tune it a bit more. I will say this, ... this might be helpful to someone like myself that has only used IE for most of the time. When I first tried K-Meleon early in the week .... it was after I had run IEradicator first to take IE 6 completely off my harddrive. I had a choice whether to leave the "IE shell" on or just take IE completely off. Wasn't sure what to do, so I took IE completely off ... seemed to be a mistake after I did that. Many things were messed up so I redid my computer ... I have a Ghost backup so it wasn't too bad to get things back to the way they were. Decided to try the other browsers but I left IE 6 on the computer ... Early this morning after trying out 2 more browsers I decided to put K-Meleon back on ... it seems to be the one for me, as herbalist said in an earlier post ... "K-Meleon is an extremely configurable browser. If you like tweaking settings, it's got tweaks for everything. It has built in flash blocking, user agent spoofing, proxy switching, one click clearing of all usage records, and much more. A fair amount of what I had Proxomitron doing is built into K-Meleon. It takes a little more getting used to than SeaMonkey but it's more flexible." .... yes, I have to work with it some more but I was able to get most of my settings the way I wanted them, compared to Sea Monkey and FireFox. That's just me probably ... others should try them anyway and decide what they might like. I decided to post a follow up on what I decided on. I don't know what to do about IE 6 ... I am thinking of just leaving it on the computer as a back-up browser ... herbalist or anyone ... when using that IEradicator ... if I ran it and left the "IE shell" on the computer and not completely take IE 6 off, would that keep other programs OK? ... or should I just leave IE 6 sit on the computer??? ... thanks

crisp ... thanks for the info on those two browsers. So you are saying I would have no security to speak of with those two browsers. All these years I've only used Internet Explorer ... starting with version 4. Not very familiar with any of the other browsers ... I will try the ones that herbalist mentioned and any that are mentioned in the future.

OK ... I hear ya herbalist. You and many (most) others are much more in the know than I am on this IE 6 subject. You mentioned the browsers you like ... others mentioned Firefox 2.0.0.20. I have them all downloaded ... I'd like something that is safe, simple, fast and low on resource use. I came across these two additional browsers that work with Windows 98SE and was wondering if anyone reading this thread has tried them or might be using them now .... TheWorld Browser for Windows 98 v2.4.1.2 (2009-06-04) http://www.ioage.com/en/ http://www.ioage.com/en/download.htm http://www.brothersoft.com/theworld-browse...-98-111697.html and ... SlimBrowser v4.12 released, Jul 23, 2009 Windows 98+IE5 is the minimum requirement. SlimBrowser runs on both 32-bit and 64-bit windows platform. http://www.flashpeak.com/sbrowser/ they are both very small downloads.