As the June 25th release of Windows 98 draws nearer all of us that use Windows 95 hope that there will be some much needed additions to 98 that should have been included in 95 from the beginning.

I don’t know about you but I have my desktop set up with several of the programs that I use continually so that I don’t have to click Start, Programs and go looking every time I want to run a program. And I don’t let Windows automatically arrange my icons for me. Well, at least I try not to. But every now and then Windows decides to hiccup, and all my icons end up left-justified on the desktop and all scrambled up. Boy, does that just burn me! Why isn’t there a button somewhere that you can push when that happens to put it back like it was?

I use Windows Explorer all the time. So much in fact that it starts up automatically when I start up Windows. And I agree that 95’s long file name feature has made it much easier to find files that have been saved for a while. But why can’t you make notes alongside a file in case there’s more info you need to remember than you want to include in a file name?

I get so tired of those clouds flying around when 95 takes forever to load. Why isn’t there an easy way to change that opening screen to some cute picture or animation of my choice instead of what Bill Gates wants me to see?

Are you like me and wish there were more choices on the menus of the programs you use? Who decided that those choices were the only ones we wanted?

Have you ever deleted a file in DOS mode that you wish you hadn’t and wonder why it couldn’t have been sent to the recycle bin like in 95?

Ever load a new program, like a graphics program, that automatically changes an association to a particular type of graphics file that you would rather have loaded automatically by another program but was changed when the new program was loaded? Maybe we would like to have it load with a different program, or better yet load with the program of choice at the time we double click on it.

Have you ever wished the recently used menu was easier to get to and that you didn’t have to use RegEdit to make changes to it?

Why doesn’t 95 have a built-in utility that lets me swap around keys on my keyboard, especially the ones I keep hitting in error?

Ever had so many programs running that your task bar was so full you couldn’t make out which program was which and you decide you need to load one more program from your desktop, but don’t feel like minimizing all the programs to get to your desktop?

Better yet, why couldn’t there be one button to push to clear off all the garbage from the screen and get to a clean desktop? But, if I wanted to go back to the garbage screen, it would still be available.

All of this seems a little much to ask the Redmond, Washington team to cure in Windows 98, all at one time. And I don’t really expect them to cure all the ills. But everything I just wished for is available for Windows 95 right now and they are all FREE. That’s right, PC Magazine Online has come through again. Last month, when I was doing research for my article, I came across the mother-lode of much needed utilities or fixes for Windows 95. So much so, if the justice department or some of the states keep Mr. Gates from releasing 98 on time I don’t really care. . . . for now that is!

Send your browser to http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/pctech/download/win95.html and behold the bevy of free programs available just for the download. And they are all relatively small so the download time is minimal for the benefit you’ll receive. Here’s what you’ll see there:

• Explorer Notes enhances Windows 95 explorer by letting you associate a note of up to 255 characters with any file or folder.
• BigBin enhances the Windows 95 Recycle Bin so those files deleted from within DOS boxes are protected along with those deleted through Explorer.
• MultiLaunch lets you associate more than one application with a file extension and adds a section to the context menu that lists programs that can be used to open that file.
• TrayLaunch lets you access all the icons on your desktop from the task bar, including system utilities such as My Computer and Recycle Bin that are placed there by Windows. These system utilities are normally accessible only from their desktop icons.
• ZDKeyMap adds a property page to the Control Panel's Keyboard applet that lets you remap all the standard keys on your keyboard. Thus, you can swap the CapsLock and Left Ctrl keys to avoid pressing CapsLock accidentally, or turn little-used keys on a notebook into other keys that the notebook may be missing.
• With LogoMania, you can replace the standard startup logo with your own animated or static bitmaps.
• MenuEdit lets you easily edit the commands available on context menus and add new ones.
• RUPL2 allows users to put a Recently Used menu on either the Programs menu or the Start menu. It also eliminates the need to use RegEdit for configuration.
• Organize your Windows 95 desktop and keep it in order with WinTidy 95. Use its predefined icon layouts to create an initial arrangement, then make any fine-tuning changes to the icon positions. The utility will automatically tidy your desktop when it starts up and when the screen resolution changes.
• The ZDDesk utility creates multiple configurations on your Windows desktop, or virtual desktops (up to 9). This lets you run a greater number of applications without cluttering the task bar. Users can toggle from one virtual desktop to another with a click of the mouse.

I’ve tried them all, and my favorites are WinTidy 95 and ZDDesk. I would find it hard to live without either one now. So if the justice department wants to play with Bill Gates for a couple of months, let them. I figure these ten new utilities will keep me busy until the Buccaneers start winning again in August. Besides, there are other freebies located at this site, like the Top Ten Utilities, some of which I talked about last month, Classic Games and Internet Utilities. WOW! What a find!

I’ve said it before. . . . if you’re not on the Internet you don’t know what you’re missing. Find your way to the I-way. You won’t be sorry! You’ll only wonder why you took so long to get there in the first place.