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LANGALIST By Fred Langa As this weekly column reaches the end of its 25-year run, it’s a bittersweet moment for me. But in large part because of you,
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Total of 25 users thanked author for this post. Here are last 20 listed.

Steve, mledman, IreneLinda, WSbubblejet, Patricia Grace, tcc089, Steve S., WSGeo, NetDef, Chris B, MHCLV941, Captain Al, AlphaCharlie, Rand Alonin, LH, cybercrone, WSjaflady, wavy, Seff, guthrie

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Enjoy your retirement, Fred. May it be free from technical issues.

Thanks for the newsletters and advice over the years.

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It took me a year and a half to retire from freelance translation and copy-editing for my final client, a science institute. Work got harder and harder to settle down to, with delays long enough for me to forget once familiar shortcuts in my Word substitute program. I’m happy you have been able to stay sharp and meet your deadlines right to the end. Quite impressive!

Here’s hoping you’re planning some summer bike trips, rides at least. Keep the rubber side down!

Thanks,

Wayne

 

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wavy

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Hi Fred,

wishing you a good and happy retirement from the The Netherlands.

And when you think to have more time then, . . . forget it, believe me I know   ;-D
You will still need a diary to plan free-time, that’s all in the name! haha

Goodbye, so long etc etc

the other Fred

* _ ... _ *

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Dear Fred,

I will miss your writing and your very clear descriptions of technical stuff that I didn’t know I needed until you explained them in your columns. I think it was you who introduced me to BootItNG, one of the best bits of software ever.

I remember your bike ride on a Gold Wing.

I hope that you enjoy your retirement.

Best Wishes for the future.

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Fred,

Thank You for the columns filled with timely and future looking advice about the hardware and the software of information technology and our love/hate relationship with it over the years. I’ll miss your deep dives of all the subjects you presented to us, not mention the stories of what each subject caused you to do a great column(s) about it.

Enjoy a well earned retirement!

Thank you again!

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Thanks for the decades of useful information. Wishing you great happiness in the next chapter of your life.

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I have to repeat: Thanks for the decades of wonderful information.  I honestly cannot remember when I started reading Langa List, but it had to be about 2000, and I have followed you faithfully ever since.  I never wanted to spend the time to acquire the depth of knowledge you not only acquired, but passed on to the rest of us.  But I have sincerely appreciated what you passed on!!!

I sincerely hope you will thoroughly enjoy the next segment of your life in different ways!!!

Best Wishes

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Fred,

I first subscribed to the Langa List, long, long ago. I then followed you to Windows Secrets, and finally to Ask Woody. Much of what I have learned about the technology contained within this amazing device we all know as our computer I have learned from reading your (and many other pundits) posts in newsletters, and on the Internet. To you and all those other remarkable people who helped to enlightened me I owe a debt of gratitude that I cannot begin to express.  You have given me much more than a better understanding and appreciation for the hardware and software I use daily. You have taught me to appreciate the ability to make it comprehensible and even easy for technically disinclined people to understand. I want to thank you for all you have given me and my fellow readers, and for all the years you have given to serving the computer using population of the world. Please know that you have changed my world in a very real way, and I am much better for it.

Thank you, Fred,

Ernie

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guthrie

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I’ve enjoyed your columns for decades and want to thank you for the work that went into them. I hope you have a long enyable retirement from the daily grind.

Bob

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Hi Fred, I feel as if I know you well enough to say it that way.

I am a dabbler, not a novice, but not an expert. I subscribed to Langa List for many years and moved to Windows secrets, in part to follow Fred.

I will miss your columns, and selfishly complain that you have left me. But as a retiree, I wish you much success in your future experiences.

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Thank you for your years of help, Fred. All the best to you.

Peace, CAS

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Many thanks Fred. You’ve been very helpful to me along the way! Best wishes for the future. Whatever you do, HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!! 😀

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Fred, you’ve been part of my computer and technology experiences for a good many years. I’ve always enjoyed and benefited from your articles. Take care, good luck, and enjoy your retirement.

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I’ve been receiving your emailed column since the 90’s.  Each time you would switch publishers (or whatever it’s called), I would worry “uh oh, the contents gonna change” or “dang, now he’s going to be edited and we won’t get true-Fred-writing”.  I’m not so sure about #2 cuz I have nothing to compare it to, but it seemed like you were able to focus even more on the topic at hand, maybe because you had less admin work to do.  Anyway, I want to thank you for all the insights/tips/tricks in language and humor that I understood.  I hope to read guest columns from you in the future.

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Fred, I’ve been reading your work for two decades. You even answered my questions in your column on a few occasions. So it’s sad to hear the LangaList will be no more. But you’ve certainly earned the chance to rest and pursue other interests. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and humanity with us readers over the years. I’ll look forward to any special appearances you make in the AskWoody newsletter in the future. Take care!

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Hi Fred, I have been a subscriber since LangaList (yup 56.6 modem and Pegasus e-mail client 🙂 ), and it has been a pleasure to follow you through all these years. I’ve learnt a lot from you.

I wish you a happy retirement, and hope you’ll return with your wisdom now and then.

Best wishes from Michael, Denmark

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Fred:

I started on this journey to AskWoody.com by subscribing to the LangaList newsletter (then LangaList Plus) when it was just an emailed newsletter. (I never did know precisely who was the recipient of the donations generated by my “pay what you want” subscription, but I knew it was some children somewhere!)

I always enjoyed reading your columns. You wrote in very plain, everyday language that anyone could understand; and you always knew exactly what you were talking about. (I came to that understanding as I learned more about IT.)

I still remember your joke about the lab report and the cat scan.

I always dreamed that I would be one of the lucky ones visited by you when you went on your motorcycle trips. I knew that my computer would be better off for it. Alas, it never happened.

I hated to see you go when you retired; I rejoiced when you came out of retirement. Now you’re going again. You will definitely be missed.

I hope you will at least stay an AskWoody MVP and visit the forums from time to time.

Enjoy your retirement! You definitely deserve it!

Jim

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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Fred,

Please enjoy this new chapter in your life.  You have always been my main guiding light with PCs.  You helped many when I became the defacto tech support in the elementary school parking lot when my grown kids were little and the word got out that I (barely) knew how to get them to work right.

Thanks for your insight and the dedication, especially through difficult times.  You will be missed by many.

All the best, Kevin.

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I always looked forward to receiving the Langa List for the many reasons already specified in this forum and in preceding editorial and its comments!

In the early days of computing, you and the Langa List struck a unique and friendly cord that for me, may no longer exist.  I looked forward to receiving your recommendations and learning more about hardware and software, which eventually led to the building of my own DIY boxes.

My move from the Langa List, to Windows Secrets was mainly because of you.  In fact, I unsubscribed from Windows Secrets and was PC newsletter-less, until I again found you and AskWoody.

I hope you enjoy whatever you find yourself doing. You will be missed by not only me, but obviously, by many others!

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Thank you for everything, Fred. You will be deeply missed.

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enjoy
But get a Harley or Beemer 😛

Best and keep truckn’

🍻

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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Definitely a Beemer

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Farewell Fred Langa –

I thank you for so many wonderful columns over decades.  I think I subscribed to the original LangaList shortly after it debuted.  I read your clear explanations of so many of the new things and problems I was encountering as a seat-of-the-pants IT in a small Ma and Pa dental office. We had several black & green screened old Wyse boxes and I had just puchased a brand new cpu and was moving from DOS to Win 3.1.  It was all a brand new and fascinating world  – exciting and somewhat mysterious – and you were a reliable guide.  I subscribed to everything I could find at the time as well as bought every giant book and magazine and tried to absorb it all.

Throughout all the years of keeping an office running safely, expanding it, fixing it and on into my own personal computer adventures I loved reading your advice.  Now I have been long retired and still very much enjoying all your writings but I think you have given us amazing treasurers in understanding.  Time for you to explore other interests and enjoy only keeping up with the tech that you enjoy.  You will be much missed so I do hope you check in once in a while.

Thank you again

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Fred has been one of my favorite tech authors since his Windows Magazine days.  He will truly be missed by many – I know that I will really miss seeing him regularly here.  We’ll all be poorer for it.

Being sorta, kinda retired myself, I know I can’t quite quit.  Seems like it wasn’t that long ago he took time away to go out on his motorcycle, but he finally came back and I hope he is like me and not quite quit.  While I certainly can’t begrudge him a wonderful retirement, I do hope we see him back here again – at least once in a while, but the sooner and the more frequently, the better.  Best wishes for a wonderful future.

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Dear Mr Langa,

May God bless you and keep you well on your new journey!
Thank you for all that you have provided.

God bless,

Jack Moran, DC
(aka. WSJahk)

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Thank you, Fred. LangaList was my first tech newsletter subscription. Your tips and stories were a godsend. Grateful for your colleagues who continue to share the knowledge. Keeping up with tech without your expertise and patience was not pretty. I hope to join you soon following other passions. Thank you so much. Be well.
-Karl

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Oh, Fred. I don’t think you realise just how much you have helped me over the years, and if me then that must be multiplied by all the readers of all the columns you have written. I really cannot remember who introduced me to the LangaList but it was like a light going on and I followed it avidly from then on.

Just don’t think that you will get a rest, Fred, life will soon fill all that time, just remember to make it all fun. Enjoy it all Fred. Live long and Prosper.

Steve, England

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Really going to miss you Fred!
I ran across you in the magazine, signed up for the Langalist Newsletter when it started – and I still have them all saved on my oldest computer. You’ve been part of my computing life for so long. I might just have a few tears in my eyes.
But as you move on you’ll now have time to take a fresh look at the world, grow in your other interests and probably even find some new ones.
Bon Voyage. May the wind be always at your back.

"She was not quite what you would call refined. She was not quite what you would call unrefined.
She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot."
--Mark Twain

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Fred,

No doubt you will be missed by all those who subscribe to “Askwoody”. You have saved my life (computer speaking) on several occasions over the years. I thank you for the professionalism you always display, and the high-end technical fixes that we all looked forward to.

Whatever endeavor you decide to tackle, may they bring you enjoyment, tranquility and time with your family.

Enjoy life……it is short enough

BobN
Canada

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Fred

During all these years you felt like a friend to me, helping me fix the problems that I encountered, many of them, my own making.

I hope you will enjoy your ‘retirement’ as much as I have enjoyed your friendship throughout all these years, good luck and Godspeed Sir….. You deserve it…!

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Sure will miss your expertise and step by step know-how. Enjoy your retirement and thank you!

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Like so many others, I’ve enjoyed your wisdom, humour and plain speak since the early days of the Langa List and from Australia I’ve followed you through the other sites even after dabbing on the dark side (Mac – sssh).  You will be missed Fred but no one deserves a better retirement.  Enjoy it to the full!

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To unabashedly steal a phrase from Star Wars, “There is a great disturbance in the force”.

May the force be with you in your next life and may it help to rest of us do without your wisdom and advice.

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Happy retirement Fred!

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c:\> shutdown /r /c “One hopes this is not the end of Fred’s story.”

~ Group "Weekend" ~

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MHCLV941

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Many thanks, Fred, for all the wise computer counsel over the years via Langa List, Windows Secrets and AskWoody. May you treasure your retirement and future endeavors like we have treasured your tips and guidance. Salute!

Oh, and yes. To add to what someone else said above: It’s amazing how many things can keep us ‘retirees’ busy, engaged, and sometimes tuckered at the end of the day. Pick the fun ones!😄

Win10 Pro x64 22H2, Win10 Home 22H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.

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I was bitten by Byte,too long ago to recall.

Thanks Fred, enjoy not being Fred Langa.

Barry Mahon, France

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All my best wishes Fred! Now you get to enjoy lots of other things in life too, so have fun. Above all, many, many thanks for all that you have done for us, your readers.
Tony.

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Thank you Fred for advice I started reading in Windows Secrets mag.  Your articles were/are so informative and interesting that I even read the ones that were of no immediate use to me.  Bon voyage!

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I learnd everything “computer savvy” from Fred. I never met him or attended a computer trade show but Fred made my computing safe online and modern practical.Thanks Fred,

<!–more–>

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Steve S. wrote:

Oh, and yes. To add to what someone else said above: It’s amazing how many things can keep us ‘retirees’ busy, engaged, and sometimes tuckered at the end of the day. Pick the fun ones!

That qualifies as one of the understatements of all time!

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I’m wishing you well in your much deserved retirement. Welcome to the club. You won’t regret a single minute of your newfound freedom!

 

I find it hard to believe that I’ve been following your various newsletters and columns, and more importantly, your  advice since the late 90s but alas that’s the case. Many of your tips and such I passed on to others having created my own little tech help network.

Thank you for all you’ve done to make tech easier for all of us.

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Was a Langalist Plus! subscriber since the late 90s and followed you to WindowsSecrets and became a lifer there.  That then transferred here to AskWoody.  Before all that, I read your articles in Byte back in the 80s as well.  You are truly a gem, sir, and your presence will be missed.   Enjoy your retirement, Fred.  If anyone deserves one, you do.    Still, don’t be a stranger.   🙂

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Dear Fred Langa,

Your farewell post was very moving. I even had a few tears in my eyes by the end. How kind of you to thank us, when it is we who should be thanking you! Still, I know what you mean about needing feedback so here is my final feedback … your columns were immensely helpful to me, a non tech y type, as I tried to navigate the technology of Windows and all its various parts. Thank you for your wisdom, your clear writing and your totally understandable explanations. I will look forward to your occasional appearance back in these pages. Meanwhile, have a wonderful break from deadlines and all the best in every adventure you undertake in the future.

Another fan,

Linda

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Long time subscriber and  recently retired quasi-tech guy here.

I have always appreciated your lucid articles and have found them very useful over the years.

When you announced your first semi-retirement due to personal reasons and annouced your discovery of motorcycling, I was thrilled! I too discovered the joy of motorcycling, although it was back in 1970! But I started my own business around that passion and had my fill by about 1992 and then went onto the next passion.

I sincerely hope you find and enjoy your next passion with your new found time!

 

Cheers! Roland

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Many thanks to Fred Langa, and as much enjoyment of retirement as possible.

Throughout the years I’ve read his great articles and advice to we nerds, and to those ‘just users’ of all this wonderful and often aggravating tech stuff.

I still have a copy of the first [and others] Byte magazine in my stacks, and have read much of his work since. Always creating useful and informative writing, a very productive career and now for a richly deserved [semi-]retirement.

I actually pre-date the ‘PC’ era, beginning my serious tech career in 1969 [preceded by years of skool] with your basic supercomputer mainframes. They were running at 5.5MHz, which looked really fast on a Tektronix 466, but they had huge amounts of storage, both RAM and permROM- later huge Burroughs hard drives]; with chingos of lines of code. And using the pre-cursors to ’email’ ~1972′ on systems that preceded UNIX. Doing both hardware and software and thinking [in your sleep too] in components, subsystems, systems, machine codes, assembly, and up, binary, octal, decimal, hexadecimal, etc. Retired 22 years ago and slowly wound down the ‘obsessive necessity’ to stay current, as Fred indicates.

Of course my interest in PCs was high when they appeared, got my first PC ~1985. That PC was an AT&T 6300+ [Olivetti M24] with a blazing fast Intel 8086 at 6MHz, 256K RAM, and a huge 20Mb hard drive with a floppy. It ran  both MS DOS/Windows and UNIX. Those were the days, eh? Now my PCs each have a thousand+ times the power of those ancient machines.

Continued good luck and many more accomplishments, Mr. Langa

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Steve

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Thank you Fred for the 25 years of wisdom

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