[TYPO3-english] No 'nice text' rendering + GMENU for multilanguage is NOT working ok

[mario]

Hello

I am suffering two issues:

1. the install test "Testing GDLib / Render text with TrueType font
using 'niceText' option" just returns a purple square, without the
'Hello World' line being visible;

2. the usual way to have a FE Language Selector GMenu (Frontend
Localization Guide, doc_l10nguides; see code below ) returns a larger
than expected, one color .gif, whose color is just given by
1.ACT.backColor = red. 

I am on my laptop machine, T3 3.4.8, [GFX] as below; IM, php, and mysql
as below.

Help is welcome
thanks
mario
----------------------

[GFX]
[image_processing]=1
[thumbnails]=1
[thumbnails_png]=0
[noIconProc]=0
[gif_compress]=1
[imagefile_ext]=gif,jpg,jpeg,tif,bmp,pcx,tga,png,pdf,ai
[gdlib]=1
[gdlib_png]=0
[gdlib_2]=1
[im]=1
[im_path]=/usr/bin/
[im_path_lzw]=/usr/bin/
[im_version_5]=im6
[im_negate_mask]=0
[im_imvMaskState]=1
[im_no_effects]=1
[im_v5effects]=1
[im_mask_temp_ext_gif]=1
[im_mask_temp_ext_noloss]=tif <<<
[im_noScaleUp]=0
[im_combine_filename]=composite
[im_noFramePrepended]=1
[jpg_quality]=70
[enable_typo3temp_db_tracking]=1
[TTFLocaleConv]=
[TTFdpi]=96
[png_truecolor]=1


PHP 5.2.9 (cli) (built: Apr 17 2009 03:29:12)
Copyright (c) 1997-2009 The PHP Group
Zend Engine v2.2.0, Copyright (c) 1998-2009 Zend Technologies
    with eAccelerator v0.9.5.2, Copyright (c) 2004-2006 eAccelerator, by
eAccelerator
    with Xdebug v2.0.3, Copyright (c) 2002-2007, by Derick Rethans

Welcome to the MySQL monitor.
Server version: 5.0.77 Source distribution

Version: ImageMagick 6.4.0 07/27/08 Q16 http://www.imagemagick.org
Copyright: Copyright (C) 1999-2008 ImageMagick Studio LLC

## Localization menu   
   LANG-MENU =  HMENU
   LANG-MENU {
   special = language
   special.value = 0,1
   special.normalWhenNoLanguage = 0
   1 = GMENU
   1.NO {
   XY = [5.w]+4, [5.h]+4
   backColor = yellow
   5 = IMAGE
   5.file = EXT:cms/tslib/media/flags/flag_it.gif ||
EXT:cms/tslib/media/flags/flag_uk.gif 
   5.offset = 2,2
   }
   1.ACT < LANG-MENU.1.NO
   1.ACT=1
   1.ACT.backColor = red
   1.USERDEF1 < LANG-MENU.1.NO
   1.USERDEF1= 1
   1.USERDEF1.5.file = EXT:cms/tslib/media/flags/flag_it_d.gif ||
EXT:cms/tslib/media/flags/flag_uk_d.gif 
   1.USERDEF1.noLink = 1
   1.USERDEF2 < LANG-MENU.1.USERDEF1
   1.USERDEF2.backColor = black  
}