[email protected]

I got a new computer with XP recently, and I keep getting pop-ups on some
sites that run Java. It says the site won't run correctly unless I download
Java. (mathcats is like this.) So I click on the button to do so, and Microsoft
comes up and gives me grief about how I'm not good enough to have Java. Then
the rest is all gibberish about developers, etc.

Anybody have a clue about how to get the Java sites to work right in my
situation?

Tuck


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

heather mclean

Download Mozilla (mozilla.org) and use it instead of
Internet Explorer. IE has security flaws in it & no
one should use it (according to dh). Mozilla has a
pop-up killer built into it.

heather m
tucson

--- tuckervill2@... wrote:
> I got a new computer with XP recently, and I keep
> getting pop-ups on some
> sites that run Java. It says the site won't run
> correctly unless I download
> Java. (mathcats is like this.) So I click on the
> button to do so, and Microsoft
> comes up and gives me grief about how I'm not good
> enough to have Java. Then
> the rest is all gibberish about developers, etc.
>
> Anybody have a clue about how to get the Java sites
> to work right in my
> situation?
>
> Tuck
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been
> removed]
>
>





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[email protected]

In a message dated 4/28/2004 11:05:00 AM Central Standard Time,
heather_200115@... writes:
Download Mozilla (mozilla.org) and use it instead of
Internet Explorer. IE has security flaws in it & no
one should use it (according to dh). Mozilla has a
pop-up killer built into it.

~~~

I shall try that. I did find a way to get Java on my computer, but Microsoft
was no help whatsoever. (doh!)

In the way back when I used Netscape, but then IE got better and Netscape got
consumed or something...so I guess I'll take a look at Mozilla. Although
with the Google toolbar you do get to avoid pop-ups.

Thanks!
Tuck


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Wendy Petti

There is an alternative if you want to use Internet Explorer but
don't want to or cannot use IE's version of Java. You can download
a different and better version of Java from Sun. Below is some
rather chatty but helpful information on the benefits (for all of
us) of Sun's version of Java and how to install it, from "The
Internet Tourbus," an e-newsletter. (If you like their information,
visit www.tourbus.com for past archives and/or to subscribe.)

I would have posted a link to these articles if I could, but they
haven't archived the 2004 issues yet. Sorry for their length, but I
found this information very helpful and hope you will, too.

Wendy Petti, creator of Math Cats
www.mathcats.com

* * * * *

TOURBUS Volume 9, Number 29 -- 6 Jan 2004

Update Your Java

Java, as you already know, is a large island in the Malay archipelago
just south of Borneo. :P

Actually, in the context we're talking about today, Java is a
platform-independent, object-oriented, compiled programming language
created by Sun Microsystems. Programmers write Java programs--called
"applets"--that automatically download from the web and run on your
computer. In fact, if the Java applets are written well, they'll run
on almost EVERY computer: PCs, Macs, *nix boxes, cell phones,
refrigerators... chances are, your computer came with the ability to
load and run Java applets straight out of the box.

What do these Java applets look like? Well, for example, there's a
free Java applet on the web called "AirportMonitor" that lets you
track all inbound and outbound flights at LAX (and a few other
airports). You can find the LAX AirportMonitor Java applet at

http://www4.passur.com/lax.html

Like most Java applets, just visit the site and the applet
automatically loads in your web browser. And be patient: The
AirportMonitor applet might take just short of forever to load.
Your patience will be rewarded, though.

You can find a list of other AiportMonitor-enabled sites at

http://www.passur.com/sites.htm

Oh, and if you want to find out where my beloved hometown of Irvine,
California, is actually located, hop on over to

http://www4.passur.com/sna.html

and play around with the map range. Irvine is in the middle of the
map, just to the right of the John Wayne airport (SNA).

Now, remember how I said that Java applets automatically download
from the web and run on your computer? Think about that for a
minute. Considering the number of viruses and Trojan horses out
there, do we *REALLY* want downloaded Java programs auto-executing
on our computers?

Well, it depends.

Java applets run in something called a "sandbox" (actually it's
called the "Java RunTime Environment"). The sandbox is just a
special zone on your computer fenced off from your operating system
and other applications. In theory, Java applets can't get outside
of the sandbox and damage your computer. In theory.

The problem is that there are two major "flavors" of Java:

1. Microsoft's (which you already have if you own a PC) and
2. Sun's (which you don't have).

In Microsoft's version of Java, the sandbox is better known
as "Windows." Okay, that's an exaggeration. But, it is not an
exaggeration to say that in Microsoft's version of Java there are
some pretty significant security holes in the wall between the
sandbox and the OS. And that's a bad thing.

Even worse, Microsoft's Java Virtual Machine (the software on PCs
that actually runs Java applets) is

- Buggy,
- Proprietary, and
- Not long for this world.

By way of comparison, Sun's version of Java is

- Newer,
- Safer (because it has a MUCH better sandbox), and
- Official (because, after all, Sun invented Java.)

Oh, and what did I mean when I said that Microsoft's Java Virtual
Machine is not long for this world? Well, Microsoft will stop
supporting their JVM version on September 30th, 2004. And, because
of Microsoft's recent court settlement with Sun, there will be no
replacement. Microsoft recommends that, after 9/30, you lock down
Microsoft Internet Explorer security zones so that the MSJVM works
only with trusted sites.

Microsoft has even created a page that talks about transitioning
from the Microsoft Java Virtual Machine [you can find the page at
http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/java/%5d but a MUCH better solution
for folks like you and me is to hop on over to

http://www.java.com/en/index.jsp

and get Sun's official Java software. The process couldn't be
simpler: Just click on the "Get It Now" button and Sun automatically
downloads and installs the official Java software your computer.
And Sun's free Java software is available for the PC, Mac, Linux, and
(obviously) Sun Solaris.

You'll [probably] be asked to reboot once the new Java software is
installed. Once you reboot, though, you'll have the latest,
greatest version of Java. And, if you are a PC user, you won't have
to worry about what's going to happen when Microsoft's JVM
fficially dies in September.

Neat, huh? And once you've updated your Java, you can find a BUNCH
of free Java applets to play with at

http://www.jars.com/listing/jars_top5_games_001.html

Enjoy! :)

* * * * *

TOURBUS Volume 9, Number 31 -- 21 Jan 2004

More Java

I apologize!

In my last post [which was actually a couple of weeks ago] I told
you how to download and install Sun's official version of Java but
forgot to tell you what you should do with your Microsoft Java
Virtual Machine AFTER the installation. Whoops!

This may sound kind of strange, but my gut feeling is that you
should *NOT* uninstall the MSJVM. Rather, you should abandon it in
place.

Here's why. Uninstalling Windows components, even ones that are
going to die in September, is a fool's errand if only because you
have no idea if the uninstall is going work. The worst case
scenario is that you could unintentionally break Windows in the
process. And that's a risk I'm just not willing to take.

Instead, to make sure your Microsoft Java Virtual Machine is sent
off to its own private Siberia, download and install the Sun version
of Java and then

1. In Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Internet Options.
2. Click on the Advanced tab.
3. Scroll down to the Java settings and make sure there is a
checkmark next to Use Java 2 v1.42_03 for <applet>
4. Scroll down Microsoft VM and uncheck everything.
5. Click on OK.

After that,

1. Open your PC's control panel. (Start > Settings > Control
Panel; Start > Control Panel in XP)
1a. If you have XP and your Control Panel is a purple
page asking you to Pick a Category, click on Switch
to Classic View in the upper left corner of the page.
2. Double-click on the Java Control Panel icon. (If you have two
Java Control Panel icons, click on purple and red one not the
black, white, and red one that looks like a ouija board
pointer).
3. It'll take a while for the control panel to open, but when it
does click on the browser tab.
4. Make sure there is a checkmark next to all of the browsers
that you use.
5. Click on apply and then close the control panel.

Then, restart your computer. That's it. :)

I hope this helps!

Patrick Douglas Crispen
The Tourbus

* * * * *

(Now another word from Wendy.)

I have heard recently from someone else who also recently got an XP
computer or upgraded to XP and could not use Java (and therefore
could not use much of Math Cats). Maybe since Microsoft is ending
its support for Java soon, they are not including it in the latest
version of XP. It is really ridiculous. Much of the Web depends on
Java. So I hope you'll all help spread the word that it makes sense
to turn to Sun for reliable Java.

- Wendy

* * * * *

--- In [email protected], tuckervill2@a... wrote:
> I got a new computer with XP recently, and I keep getting pop-ups
on some
> sites that run Java. It says the site won't run correctly unless
I download
> Java. (mathcats is like this.) So I click on the button to do
so, and Microsoft
> comes up and gives me grief about how I'm not good enough to have
Java. Then
> the rest is all gibberish about developers, etc.
>
> Anybody have a clue about how to get the Java sites to work right
in my
> situation?
>
> Tuck