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Ezine 126 - Guy the LCD Luddite
Nobody likes to be thought as old-fashioned, or labelled a Luddite. But last week I got caught out with a
stick-in-the-mud attitude. While I have upgraded my computer's system unit 3 times in 11 years, each time,
I kept the same fat old Iiyama CRT* monitor. My dislike of LCD** monitors
comes from experience with computers in our local library, and also from working
with flat-panel monitors that training companies supply for my delegates.
* CRT = Cathode Ray Tube. **LCD = Liquid Crystal Display
Last week my wife's computer screen went 'bang', and consequently she needed
a replacement. Now she DOES like the latest fashion items, therefore, she
wanted a new 19in Iiyama monitor, and she insisted on the modern, flat-panel,
LCD design.
When my wife's new flat-panel monitor arrived, it was my job to
get it working. As the device was a monitor, I was looking forward to a
straightforward plug and play job. However, when we turned on the new
flat-panel monitor we were desperately disappointed with the blurred appearance
of the fonts.
I resisted saying, 'I told you the flat-panel monitors were rubbish', and got down to troubleshooting
the display. Firstly, I downloaded the latest
Iiyama drivers.
Then I updated the monitor driver by drilling down through this path: Control Panel, System, Hardware, Device Manager, Monitor and Update driver
- still no real improvement in the clarity of screen fonts.
Well if all else fails, I don't mind reading the instructions. Unfortunately, there was nothing of help in the readme file, but
I persevered, and
as usual found a few rewarding sites on the internet. One site article
explained that LCD monitors are sharpest at their native resolution, while another
site told me the native resolution for my make of flat-panel monitor. This was not my day. Solving one problem only led to a new problem - my wife did not want to work
at the native resolution of 1280 x 1024, she wanted
her usual 1024 x 800 screen. Moreover, native resolution only made a small difference to the
font clarity.
Eureka! Thank Goodness for ClearType.
The next day the answer came to me while I was having a bath, 'Guy remember your own tips', check ClearType on your website. Eureka! Whilst
the ClearType setting does nothing for my CRT monitor, it transformed the wife's LCD
monitor at all resolutions, not just the native. Thank you ClearType. From
being the biggest critic, overnight, I have converted into an advocate of flat-panel monitors.
Here is my ClearType tip: in both XP and Vista, look for the keyword: 'Appearance'. In Vista start with
Personalize, click on Windows Color and Appearance. Look for Effects. (See screenshot.) In XP right-click the desktop, Properties, Display.
From the Appearance screen select, Effects and then select 'Use the following
methods to smooth edges of screen fonts', - now switch from Standard to
ClearType.
Hopefully you should see a faint black border around the text which gives the letters a crisper, easier-to-read appearance.
If I were buying I would take a laptop to the biggest box store I could find
and hook up the LCDs and test. Many look great at their max setting 1200x1024
but deteriorate when you drop them down to 1024x768. Probably a
side-effect of the anti-aliasing.
Tools4Ever
As far as I am concerned, Tools4Ever made their name with FreePing.
However, these days they have lots more network tools for you to try.
Incidentally, this is the only link that pays me a modest fee to advertise their
software. That said, it is a labor of love to promote their products.
What I like best is that you can try their utilities for free. Browse the free downloads at
Tools4Ever.
Guy Recommends: A Free Trial of the Orion Network Configuration Monitor
(NCM) v6
Config management of routers, switches and firewalls is fun with
NCM (Network Configuration Manager.
Furthermore, it can help to
achieve your compliance policy, for example, pinpoint devices not backed
up and discover access infringements or even weak passwords. This Solarwinds NCM suite can not only detect violations, but also upload
scripts to correct the problem.
Most computer problems arise from configuration changes. Thus it makes
sense to get a proper monitoring system so that you can double-check that that
all the settings confirm to your security policy.
Download your free trial of Orion's Network Configuration Monitor. Will and Guy Humor
This week we have a topical theme,
for the 4th of
July we have this amazing video.
Meanwhile, here in England people are caught up with Tennis mania and Wimbledon fever,
everywhere you look kids are hitting tennis balls. Will and Guy have
topical jokes and
funny tennis pictures.
The Story of Guy's AutoResponder
From time to time I like to take you behind the scenes and explain what
happens in the course of running a website. This week I have a tale to
tell about the AutoResponder which emails out this very ezine to the
subscribers.
This story hardly sounds like an endorsement for an AutoResponder, but
sometimes the truth is more persuasive than all the usual advertising hype. For
more than a year, I have lost about 250 subscribers from subscription list.
I wondered why people kept writing to me saying their ezine was not getting
through. Although I tried all sorts of experiments, nothing short of
re-deleting the account and re-registering seemed to work.
Then last week I contacted Neil the AutoReponder's owner. He gave me a
simple SQL query which changed the status of those 250 accounts from 'null' to
'active' and thus cured the problem. The fact that the AutoResponder runs
on top of a MySQL engine may be an attraction if you already know that database.
Alternatively, my story indicates that you can run for 4 years at 95% efficiency
without ever needing to touch MySQL. It seems that the initial problem
occurred when my site was moved from one server to another, and as such, was not
the fault of the AutoResponder.
So if this ezine is a 'bolt from the blue' then you know the reason why your
subscription has been suddenly restored.
There is also a hidden message here, I don't endorse many products; but those
that I do must meet certain criteria, not only must I like the owner, but also
they must be accessible to prospective purchasers. In the case of the
AutoResponder, I actually use the product every week. If you have the need
to email lots of people, or manage a subscription list, then check out Neil's
AutoResponder
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