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Keep Up With Computer Housekeeping Tasks With OnTime Scheduler5
Joe M posted in Home Support, free stuff on November 30th, 2008

I get asked every day.

“Can you fix my PC?”

Part of it is, the fact that most people have limited exposure to items in an IT infrastructure.  Part of it is, being able to explain that even though I can do it, that does not mean that I like to do it.

Sure, I paid my dues, like the other guys in IT.

From time to time, I still accept the plea and succomb to helping out a friend.  It’s always a problem with… You guessed it.

Windows!

What I usually find is that no one runs virus scans, no one runs a spyware sweep and no one knows how to do a hard drive defrag.

On the last favor I did for someone, such as this, I went looking for a reminder application to remind them to do all the above.

I came across OnTime Scheduler at Sourceforge.

The interface is pretty simple, and it does not seem to have a large footprint.

You can set up recurring daily, weekly, monthly or yearly reminders.

It’s perfect for setting up reminders for those computer housekeeping tasks that no one seems to be able to remember.

The reminder appears at exactly the time for when you set it up.

So, if I set up a reminder to run at 1 pm, the reminder appears at 1 pm on the nose.

OnTime is perfect for other reminders, too.

I would not consider it a replacement for your Personal Information Manager, but it certainly will complement it.

Some examples of what you want to schedule?

Virus scan, Spyware sweep, Hard Drive Defrag.

I would also add msconfig (if you install new software on a regular basis.)  The reason being, every time you install a printer, java update or Quicktime, the apps are usually written to install themselves in the system tray.  After a certain amount of time, these apps collectively will slow your machine to a crawl.  Usually, you don’t need a printer manager or other ‘extra’ running in the system tray, with the exception of your virus scanner.

Keep On Your Toes This Holiday Season0
Joe M posted in Uncategorized on November 29th, 2008

Today was Black Friday.

With the holiday season upon us, everyone is watching their pocketbook.

Of course, with the economy not doing so well, manufacturers and merchants are looking for ways to get consumers out and buying.

What does that mean?

That means they are looking for giving the consumer incentives to spend money.  That includes motivation and comfort in making a purchase.

If you feel good about a purchase, you are more likely to make it.

I have seen some good deals in the past couple of years, and I have seen some deals that were not-so-great.

The deal that I always question is the one that involves rebates.

It might be a merchant rebate, a manufacturer’s rebate, or a combination of the two.

Why do they do it?

Rebates are conditional, and many of the people that purchase items with a rebate usually fail to meet the requirements to qualify for the rebate.

Ultimately, that means that the consumer is paying the full price.  Sometimes, they don’t even bother.

In some cases, there are so many hoops to jump through to meet the qualifications, the consumer gives up and does not even try.

Without knowing the full details of how the merchants and the manufacturers use the money ‘in the float,’ my guess is it is being used to earn interest.

I have bought a couple of items in the past with rebates.  They always had a presentation and connotation of ’such a great deal.’

Later, when I to read the fine print, I either got frustrated or a little perturbed at all of the hoops I had to jump through in order to actually receive the rebate.

For that reason, I don’t like rebates.  For the most part, they seem overrun with loopholes and hoops.

As a consumer, when I see an item advertised at a low price, I scan the ad for the word rebate.

Amazing how the font changes.  The more loopholes, the smaller the print gets, and the harder the ad is to read.

Most of the time, I find the following scenario:

I find two listings from two stores for the same item.

The first store offers a low price, but the small print contains the word ‘rebate.’

The second store offers a mediocre price, but does not mention ‘rebate.’

Unless the first store’s rebate is instant, meaning you get it deducted at the checkout, I will choose the second store to make my purchase.

Paying a little more is often a better deal for me, than having to watch deadlines and collect all of the information and fill out the forms to get the rebate.

This year, my suspicion is that consumer incentives will be loaded with loopholes and hoops to fulfill in order to save money.

My best advice to give anyone this holiday season is simply:

Be informed. Comparison shop.  Read the fine print. Avoid rebates.

Recycle The Old Scanner1
Joe M posted in Uncategorized on November 27th, 2008

Evolving Standards In Portable Storage0
Joe M posted in opinion, products on November 26th, 2008

There are encryption methods for portable storage.  You can find some pretty complex software packages, some that are even free that will encrypt the device.

Up until recently, there was little direction in the standards for such devices, and you see quite a spectrum in all the permutations for storage devices.

Not too long ago, the IEEE published a standard, IEEE 1667.

It’s titled, “Standard Protocol for Authentication in Host Attachments of Transient Storage Devices.”

The standard calls for a complex set of protocols (rules or guidelines) in securing portable drives.

In an oversimplified series of events, what normally happens, is, IEEE publishes the specifications for the standard.

Once the specification has been published, it is up to the manufacturers and publishers to embrace the standard.

IEEE 1667 provides standards for connecting and securing devices such as portable USB drives.

Theoretically, the drive would meet a set of hardware specifications, and connect to a protocol implemented for authentication in the Operating System.

Simply put, companies and individuals would be able to lock down thumb drives and portable storage to a particular machine.

If it works as proposed, no longer would an individual be able to purchase a thumb drive and use it just anywhere. That’s the OS implementation of the standard.

From ‘the other side,’ the drives issued to an employee for use at work would not be authenticated to be used in other places, such as their home PC.

How will this be accepted?

It’s hard to say.

It brings up several questions.

If Windows 7 embraces the standard, how will it retroactively affect existing portable devices?  How will it be implemented in or affect ‘Legacy’ Windows systems?  Will there be driver and authentication module updates to Windows Vista and Windows XP?

The IEEE is responsible for several well-known standards. You might recognize some of the 802.XX standards, such as 802.11, the base standard specification for Wi-fi.

If the standard is accepted, it will simplify responsibility and control over portable storage for the business environment.

Suspense Is Alive And Well In The World Of Open Source0
Joe M posted in products on November 25th, 2008

Usually, computer geeks are pretty boring.  We spend a great deal of time staring at computer screens or working on things that would bring most to tears of boredom.

From time to time, a story arises that is dark and intriguing.

It’s not my typical post.  I try to stay away from legalities and politics.

Reading like excerpts from a suspense novel, the trial of Hans Reiser is a long twist of details.

The devil is there.

Hans Reiser is 44 years old.  Back in April of this year, he was convicted of murder and received a sentence of 15 years.

That isn’t where the story began.

Reiser was a technology whiz kid.  His company, Namesys, is responsible for development of the ReiserFS and Reiser4 filesystems.

Both filesystems are supported in the Linux kernel.  They are the default file system for several Linux distributions.

Reiser was accepted at UC Berkley at the age of 15.

He later founded and headed Namesys.  The company is still continuing development on the newer Reiser4 filesystem, without Reiser.  He has an impressive resumé.

In 1998, Reiser met Nina.  Nina was a Russian OB/GYN, and they got married.  She was working on furthering her education to move to the United States.  It’s a little vague how they met.

The couple started a family.

In an on-and-off-again relationship, the couple took steps toward divorce.

In 2006, she disappeared.

An investigation took place.  DNA samples were taken, and several pieces of evidence were obtained.

Eventually, Reiser was arrested and went on trial.

In a bizarre fold of events, he eventually took a plea bargain and led authorities to the body.

That’s not the end of the story.

A few days ago, there were reports of his plans to appeal.

You can read more about it here and here.

Prepping For Evaluation Time In The Workplace0
Joe M posted in opinion, well-being on November 24th, 2008

With evaluation time and the year approaching fast, the workplace is pretty hectic.

Most evaluation processes involve some sort of feedback from the employee.

I get questions from people, from time to time.

How do you communicate your value to your supervisor, in written form while using the most effective manner?

My recommendations, things to remember:

1.  Don’t wait to the last minute. If you have a deadline, waiting to the last possible opportunity will limit you.  How many times have you written something, only to realize that you left out an important point?  Don’t be in a rush.  Carefully plan your writing activities, just as you would any meeting.

2.  Ask your co-workers for feedback. Take notes.  You may not agree with the feedback, but you can use it to formulate developmental goals for yourself.  In your writing, you can refer to your developmental goals without aggregating (what others may perceive as) your faults.  That will help convey your interest in your own professional growth, at the least amount of professional limitation.  You can imply a full assessment of yourself in your writing, using your goals, without placing too much emphasis on your shortcomings.

3.  Take pride in your accomplishments. Remember, this is your time to point out your achievements.  Look through your calendar, your email and your project list for ideas.  Write complete thoughts and make sure you answer the basic questions:  Who, What, Where, Why, How and When?

4.  Avoid embellishment and euphemisms. Nothing will give your supervisor or another member of the management team a fast reason to discount your accomplishments like an overly-colorful and dramatic account of your activities for the past year.  Keep your writing conversational, just as you would talking to someone face-to-face.

5.  Do your writing prep in 3’s. Schedule yourself three time frames to brainstorm on what you want to express, at least a week apart.  That will give you and your subconscious a chance to work through whatever points you happen to conceive during your brainstorming.  Put notes from each session aside, in a safe place.  Start new in the next brainstorming session fresh, without referring to the notes from the previous session.

Once your brainstorming sessions are complete, use the notes from each to create your compilation in three more sessions.  Space these sessions out again.  In the first session, create your rough draft.  In the second, refine your draft.  In the last session, proofread and correct any errors in spelling and grammar.

If you give yourself enough creative space and time, you can effectively convey your efforts during the past year.

Once you are finished, keep a copy of your writing.  Put it aside with your resumé.

You will find that all the self-introspection has given you thoughts that are fertile and perfect for updating it.

Manage Hard-To-Find Settings In Windows With TweakUI0
Joe M posted in free stuff on November 23rd, 2008

TweakUI is a pretty popular tool from Microsoft, but it’s one that I put in the same category with MSCONFIG.  Most people don’t know about them.

Probably the best two tools that they have ever produced.

You can download TweakUI here.

The install is straight-forward and pretty simple.

What do all the settings mean?

The About tab allows you to change settings for your Windows tips at startup.  From here, you can also run the Group Policy Editor.  A word of caution in using the GPE.  It can be a daunting task to change the policies.  Many users find that they make changes here, only to experience nightmares in trying to change their policies back.

Mouse. Of course, it allows you to make changes to your mouse settings.   You can change your scrolling and acceleration, as well as the speed at which your Right-click menu displays.

General. Sometimes, if you are running older hardware, you have to ‘cut the fat.’  The General tab allows you to do that, quickly and easily.  Animations and beeps can be controlled from here.  You can also set default folder locations from here, as well.

Explorer. You can change some minor behavior and display settings on this tab for colors and commands.  You can play around without really hurting anything.

Common Dialogs. This allows you to set the default settings for dialogs.  When you click Start… Run… or File… Save… the items that display in the left pane can be customized here.

Taskbar and Start Menu. This allows you change some minor settings with the Start menu and listings on the Taskbar. Balloons are the messages that display usually from the system tray, telling you of updates or about a newly plugged USB device.  I usually find them pretty annoying.  You can disable those from here.

Internet Explorer. For the most part, stay out of Internet Explorer and use a safer browser for your surfing.  IE7 has actual improvements over the previous versions, but I still find myself having to answer questions about the annoyances such as the phishing filter, which seems to be a pain to turn off, or a hurdle to jump over for most people.  The only time to go into Internet Explorer is to perform updates or visit the Microsoft Website.

Desktop. You can choose which icons to display on your desktop.  Sometimes messing around here can cause you to get odd script errors, or cause some features to stop working.

My Computer. This tab allows you to uncheck drives you don’t want displayed in your My Computer window. Use caution here, the wrong settings can prevent you from using the Explore or Open commands in My Computer.

Control Panel. You can control what applets show up in Control Panel.  By removing check marks or adding them next to the proper .CPL files. If you add entries here, you have to create the reference to the *.CPL file.

Logon. If you are completely secure in your home environment, and you don’t worry about security, you can use AutoLogon to bypass the username and password on the logon screen.  You can set the username and password to use for the logon, but the password will not be encrypted.   Most companies and offices prohibit the use of this option, due to the exposure in security that it causes.  You can also backup your settings for control panel here, and set a grace period for stopping the screensaver, without getting prompted for a password.

Access Control. You can change the details for security on your machine here.  You can change several basic permissions for files, printing and monitoring.

Repair. This will allow you to restore icons, fonts and various folders.  You can also repair the registry from here.  This is a good place to try, before re-installing Windows.

Hack The ‘Disposable’ Video Camera0
Joe M posted in Howto, homelife on November 22nd, 2008

Hang On, Help Is On The Way For Windows Users0
Joe M posted in free stuff, products, security on November 21st, 2008

This won’t hurt a bit.

Microsoft announced this week that they are discontinuing their subscription-based Anti-Virus service, Live One-Care.

They will be offering a replacement service, which will be a free service.

The release date of the new service and discontinuation of One-Care seemed to have an implied synchronization.

One-Care will continue to be an offering until June 2009.

The launch date for the new service, code-named “Morro,” will be ‘the second half of 2009.’

What will this do for Microsoft, and how will it affect third parties?

It creates an interesting scenario for Microsoft.

They will be working to maintain a secure malware and virus protection package.  Since it will be free, it also raises questions of how it will be accepted in the U.S. and around the world.

Could we possibly see more Anti-Trust questions raised at the Redmond company?

That part depends on how Microsoft interacts with the companies currently targeting the virus and malware demographic space.

According to press releases, Morro is going to be an offering that will not be taxing or demanding on hardware, and will run on older systems.

Will it run in conjunction with other virus and malware protection software?

Since the OS originates from Microsoft, the fact that you have had to buy protection -in the past- seems a little demanding on the pocketbook.

Overall, I think it’s a good move for Microsoft.  The more secure and complete they make the Windows OS space and offering, the better chances they have of continuing their competition in that space.

If and while they keep everyone comfortable running Windows, the more chance they have at selling their other product offerings.

Another question…

Are they trying to compete with the free and paid versions of AVG, Anti-Vir and the other free and paid offerings, or will this move simply shut the competition down?

The less the consumer has to pay (extra) for protection, the more the public will continue to embrace Windows and the new service.

The challenge for Microsoft is to bring a free offering to market that has heuristic (software behavior monitoring) capabilities.  It must effectively isolate and repair virus and malware infections and exploits that come from vulnerabilities originally exposed within one of the service packs or the original release of the OS.

That is a daunting task that companies such as Symantec and Mcafee have built upon with years of experience.  This will be a new space and offering for Microsoft.

I am optimistic and skeptical at the same time.

The good part is, more free software for the consumer, you and me.

Edit Your Right-Click Context Menu (Windows)0
Joe M posted in Home Support on November 20th, 2008

Adding Development To Your Development0
Joe M posted in Uncategorized on November 19th, 2008

I am a big believer on self-teaching and self-motivated learning.

I like to dig in and grab all the info I can on a topic and read up.

I challenge myself and study as if I were going to be tested.

A few days ago, I wrote a post on Turbo Delphi, Turbo Delphi for .NET and Turbo C++. They can be downloaded for free at http://www.turboexplorer.com.

In the past, I have also posted on Lazarus, The Free Pascal Project.

Little did I know, Microsoft has their own free product offerings.

You can download and install Express Editions of the following products:

Visual Basic

Visual Web Developer

Visual C#

Visual C++

SQL Server

You can download these items here.

There is also a link to allow you to download a DVD ISO image to install Visual Studio Express Edition.

With everyone watching their budget these days, this looks like just the thing to occupy some free time.

For students, for hobbyists and for IT professionals that want to add to their skillset; this is a great opportunity.

What’s in the deal for Borland and Microsoft?

For both companies, they have discovered a catch-22 for developers or potential developers.

Both companies, for years, have charged for all of these packages.  They still do.

The difference, now?

With free versions available, they encourage people to learn their products and embrace their software and development ideologies.

I remember purchasing an older version of Delphi in order to learn more.  I got it at a discount rate.  I also remember looking over the license agreements and scratching my head, profusely.

As simple as I can remember it, the agreement basically said that you could only use the limited version for learning.  You had to buy the full blown package to be able to share your code or sell your projects.

From what I can tell, it looks as though Borland and Microsoft have both relaxed the licensing restrictions.

In Microsoft’s interest, ultimately, they get people developing software for Windows and Microsoft products.

There is the sublime element of comfort that goes along with both brands of product offerings, as well.  If you experience a situation in which you need a development tool, more than likely, you and others will chose a tool in which you find comfort and familiarity.

For the consumers, like you and me, it’s a win and an opportunity to learn.

Microsoft has video tutorials available, and YouTube is loaded with videos for learning Visual Basic.

XO G1G1 Starts Today1
Joe M posted in opinion, products on November 18th, 2008

I don’t have kids myself, but there is something wholesome and intriguing about watching kids with technology.

I like the idea of giving kids the tools and creating a positive addition to their technological development.

From now until the end of the year (maybe longer), you can participate in this year’s One Laptop Per Child G1G1(Give One Get One) program.

The program was started by Nick Negraponte, and has spawned a wave of portable laptops, called netbooks.

The notebook is flash-based, and does not have a ‘traditional’ hard drive.

The OLPC XO features:

* Dual mode sunlight-readable display screen
* Video and still camera
* Rugged water resistant low power laptop, no hard drive
* Open Source, Linux OS, encourages community involvement and self-exploration
* Standard WiFi as well as ‘Mesh’ networking that allows laptops to communicate with each other with or without a network infrastructure

Processor, Memory, and Motherboard

* Hardware Platform: x86
* Processor: 433.00 MHz
* Number of Processors: 1
* RAM: 256.00 MB
* RAM Type: DDR SDRAM

Special Features

* Camera: Integrated color video camera; 640 x 480 resolution at 30 FPS
* Sound: Built in Speakers and Microphone
* USB: 3 USB Ports
* Data storage: 1GB SLD NAND Flash (On-board)
* Additional data storage: SD Card Slot
* Input Devices: Touchpad, Gamepad, Directional Keys
* Screen Resolution: Dual mode – 1200×900 B&W, grey scale, sunlight readable reflective mode; 800×600 color with backlight
* Wireless: 802.11B/G, 802.11S

Hard Drive

* Size: 1 GB
* Type: USB

Cases and Expandability

* Size (LWH): 9.65 inches, 9 inches, 1.2 inches
* Weight: 3.2 pounds

The OLPC XO has received a spectrum of criticism, from raving reviews to an array of rants.

One thing is for sure…

It has influenced technology and created a market that none of the major hardware manufacturers or software vendors even new existed.

Reportedly, Microsoft recently demonstrated Windows 7 on a netbook at one of the recent MS Expos.

If the XO had come out a little sooner, Windows Vista would have functioned quite differently and more efficiently. The consumer and business markets would have embraced it.

For more information, check out:

http://www.laptop.org/
http://support.laptop.org
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/G1G1_2008

Scanning Windows XP For Viruses — With Knoppix0
Joe M posted in Home Support, free stuff, products on November 16th, 2008

I try to steer away from it, simply because I don’t have the time it takes to do it.

But…

I did it again.

I accepted someone’s plea to fix their Windows XP machine, again.

Yes, they have a young male in the house.

Inevitably, with file-sharing (Kazaa) and who knows what else they were doing, they got something nasty on their machine.

XP won’t even boot.

What do I do?

For rescuing the files, pictures, documents and so forth, I am going to use Knoppix.

Since they have a DVD drive, I will use the newest version that I have on DVD. (Version 5.3.1)

I make sure the machine will boot off of the DVD drive, in the BIOS settings and the boot order.

I boot it up.  Before I start to copy the files off to a thumb drive or burn them to a CD using K3B, I decide to run a virus scan.

Knoppix DVD comes with ClamAV (Clam Antivirus).  It’s probably out of date, but should give me a good start.

My Knoppix thumbdrive is probably a better choice, since I can update the virus definitions on it. The DVD is read-only, so any changes I make to update the definitions, will be gone when I reboot.

For the sake of demonstration, I am going ahead with the DVD version.

I right-click on hda1 and choose “Change Read and Write Mode”.

It will prompt you to confirm that you want to mount the drive as writable.  Choose “Yes”.

(You can also mount the drive as read-only, if you only want to scan the drive, without making changes.)

I open a root console.

To run the scan, I type the following:

clamscan /media/hda1

Here are the results

I know that the scan completed, and I can see the results here.

The problem with my command line arguments?

It only scans the root directory of my hard drive (/media/hda1) and it does not clean anything.

So to run the scan through the whole drive, I use the –recursive argument.

To remove infected files, I use the –remove switch.

So my final command looks like this:

clamscan –recursive –remove /media/hda1

It takes a long time and looks like this:

A word of caution:  If you use the –remove switch, there is no check-and-balance to ensure that you are not removing a system file that Windows XP needs to boot.

Why do I use it?

In most cases, I take the chance, because the machine isn’t booting into XP now!  Chances are, these days if you get a serious infection, ie one that stops your machine from functioning, you are going to have to re-install everything including the OS–anyway.

What’s it going to hurt?

I can still pull the files I want off, using K3B, which I will explore in another post.

I can’t preach it enough.

Just because you have the latest virus definition file and all the updates for your virus scanner, you can still get viruses that will disable if not completely cripple your machine.

Statistically, if I remember correctly, there are about 1200 new Windows viruses written everyday.

A good virus scanner will use heuristics in its design, and allow it to examine the file system for virus-like behavior.

That is still no guarantee that your scanner will be able to clean ANYTHING that gets on your Windows machine.

Unleash Your Child’s Inner Programmer0
Joe M posted in free stuff, homelife, opinion on November 14th, 2008

I stumbled across two projects.

One was from MIT, called Scratch.

The other was Alice, from Carnegie Mellon.

Here is a screenshot of Scratch:

Here is a screenshot of Alice:

Scratch is aimed at elementary-aged children.

Alice is aimed at Middle-school-aged children.

While both have their advantages and disadvantages, I thought it was intriguing that these two ‘development’ applications are aimed at teaching kids the basics of programming.

In reading up on both of them, I read a couple of reviews that seemed to criticize each of them on what they bring to the table from a technology standpoint.

From looking over both of them, they both seem to sharpen the child’s ability to perform logic and both intuitively increase their abilities in understanding algorithms.

An algorithm is a programmatic series of steps in performing an action, or a task.

In reading over the reviews, it would seem that these two tools would inherently sharpen other cognitive skills as well.

My favorite part?

They both are free.

What’s wrong with kids learning and having a little fun at the same time?

From my experience, tools like these usually whet the technology appetite of the user.  A little extra stimulation is usually a good thing.

Scratch is available for Windows and Mac OS X.

Alice is available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.

Manage ISO Images With ISODisk (Windows)0
Joe M posted in free stuff, products on November 13th, 2008

These days, most computers only come with one DVD or CD drive.

If you download, install or play disks on a regular basis, you know how monotonous it can get swapping disks in and out of your CD or DVD drive.

If you have a home network, it can also be challenging to keep up with different disks for your different media and programs.

ISODisk is a great solution.

ISODisk allows you to create and manage multiple ISO images.   (ISO short for ISO 9660, the standard layout or format for CDs and DVDs).

The advantages are:

You can use the program to create a copy of the CD or DVD. (That’s your ISO image.)

You can now remove the disk, and store it in a safe place.

You can mount that ISO image, and several others.  The end result is a ‘virtual’ set of CD/DVD drives that appears to have up to 20 different optical drives.

Now, if you need to access the disk, you can do that by opening the drive that you mounted the image on.

If you have several machines on your home network, you can share the drives and map to the drives on your ISODisk machine.  See this post for a refresher on Drive Mapping.

It’s pretty simple in design and makes good sense.

The Matrix Runs On Windows0
Joe M posted in Musing on November 12th, 2008

Keep watching for the resolution!

Steve Ballmer on 7, Azure and Apple0
Joe M posted in opinion, products on November 11th, 2008

While I think it is interesting to hear what Mr. Ballmer’s takes on all these items are, I only agree with a portion of what he says.

I am not sure how he categorizes his headaches, but mine usually involve sitting in front of someone else’s PC or laptop, and it slowing to a crawl because of an OS problem.  I do not equate value with experiences in times like those.

Not to pick on MS, but there are several videos like this on YouTube.

Not sure if it is their tendency to rush to market, or rush to demo.

There are other reasons why I put my tongue in cheek whenever I hear PR from M$.

Too late to go into them now, I don’t have that much time.

Talk Radio For Your MP3 Player0
Joe M posted in free stuff, homelife on November 10th, 2008

I got my car serviced the other day.

A salesman asked me about the missing satellite antenna on my car, which I bought back in the summer.

I thanked him for his help, but I told him that I rarely listen to the radio.

I have a connection for my iPod, and I listen to it almost religiously.

I have some music on it, but I spend more time listening to podcasts.

Podcasts are simply radio shows that are recorded in MP3 format, and posted on the web for users to download and play on their MP3 player.

If you have an interest, there is probably a serial podcast centered around it somewhere.

A good site to check out is Podcast Alley.

There are podcasts on hobbies, games, TV Shows, health, politics, business, religion (whatever religion or denomination) — You name it.

The thing that I like about a podcast, is, you can listen to it and pause it whenever you want.  Just pick up whereever you left off, whenever you want.

I find that it eases driving on a long commute.  I also like to listen while I am doing paperwork or items around the house.

Learn To Code With Borland Turbo Products (Resurrected)0
Joe M posted in free stuff, products on November 9th, 2008

I really enjoy getting my hands into code, every so often.

I have done several things in VB and Windows Script.  I have used Delphi and C+.

My most recent favorite is Lazarus, Free Pascal.

Tonight, I was looking up some coding techniques.

I stumbled across www.turboexplorer.com.

Borland (and I never can follow their company names or structures) has released some FREE versions of their products.  These are free for anyone wanting to learn how to use them.

During the 1980s, Borland released their Turbo line of products.  It was aimed mainly at the Educational demographic, for people wanting to learn how to program using their products.  They were reduced in cost, but still paid packages.

The Turbo product line eventually all but disappeared.  I was shocked to see it in this incarnation.

You can download and install Turbo Delphi, Turbo Delphi for .NET or Turbo C++… FOR FREE, NOW.
They require several programs to be installed prior to installing the package of choice.  These include SDKs, .NET framework and fixes.  You can download them when you download your package.

I installed Turbo Delphi to play around and continue to learn.  My hopes are that it will add to and complement my Lazarus and Free Pascal skills.

Here is a screen shot of Turbo Delphi:

It’s a little bit of a jog from what I have been used to, with the original Delphi’s with which I first became familiar.  When I moved to Lazarus, the IDE was identical to those.

So the screen shot above will take a little getting used to.

There are some limitations of the free versions.  Limited components, no third party. Also there is a difference in the performance of the free version and the paid professional versions.

The install took a little while, first to download the prerequisites, then to download the Turbo Delphi EXE file.

There is also a requirement to register the versions, and there is a limitation that only one of the three free products can be installed concurrently on one computer at a time.

The paid packages are rumored at $499.  Not a bad deal, really for the serious enthusiast or the RAD developer looking for an affordable development IDE.

I am glad to see this.  If you want people to use your product, learn and embrace it, you have to offer them some incentive and flexibility to learn.

Competition in Open Source and the proprietary software markets have created an interesting, but advantageous realm for the consumer.

We can expect to see more items like this in the coming months and years.

This is a great way to add to your investment in yourself.

Start Applications Fast With PS Hot Launch VVL (Windows)0
Joe M posted in free stuff, products on November 8th, 2008

Windows features the quick launch pad at the bottom of the screen.  There are also programs that will interpret mouse gestures to perform certain tasks.

Sometimes, the fastest way to fire up applications, for me, still seems to be using hot keys.

I was looking around for something to simplify starting applications and provide me with hot key features.

I came across PS Hot Launch VVL.

It offers some pretty good features.

As you can see, it’s pretty intuitive.  You add the program and define the set of keys to use for starting it.

Keep in mind, plan your key combinations carefully.  Common key combos will probably work, but may also do something else in addition to executing your shortcut.

The default “Windows Key +” combo may be a little troublesome.  I found it launching the start menu everytime I used the combo.

I have found that using a little more obscure key combos usually helps me avoid any complications.

After you add more hot key items, you can right-click on the icon for PS Hot Launch icon in the system tray and it offers a menu of all the hot key items for an alternative way to start the apps.

I have a number of VB Scripts that I run on a daily basis.  I found that this is a much easier way to fire them up, rather that sorting through my polluted desktop to find the icon and double-click it.

When you have so many things on your plate, you find that little shortcuts like this one really add to your productivity.

The great part is… it’s another free application.

The Secret To Triggering Traffic Lights0
Joe M posted in Howto, homelife on November 7th, 2008

This video appealed to me.  If you have ever gotten stuck at a triggered light, waiting for it to change, you know that it usually only happens when you are in a hurry.

It’s a hack, but not one I would consider an illegal hack.

I am on a quest this weekend to find the materials.

Sunset On The Riverwalk0
Joe M posted in photos on November 5th, 2008

Play Media Offline With Download Helper, For Firefox0
Joe M posted in free stuff, products on November 4th, 2008

I have played around with Google Chrome, and while I think it has potential, Firefox is still my favorite browser, by far.

The plugins / extensions feature makes it perfect for customization.

Ever wanted to download a video on one of the video sites and watch it later, or show it to someone, offline?

Download Helper does just that.

It’s great for saving media to replay at a later time.

Simply right-click inside the browser window, choose Download Helper and select the *.FLV file to save the file to your hard drive.  It will prompt you for a place to save the file.

There are other applications for this plugin, but you can play around and discover those for yourself.

There are an abundance of Firefox plugins and extensions available.

Download Helper is free.

Windows 7 and The Upgrade To Ubuntu 8.100
Joe M posted in products on November 3rd, 2008

I saw an article on Windows 7 from Computer World.  It talks about the Windows 7 pre-beta running a little leaner than Windows Vista.

Thank God someone at M$ finally paid attention to public outcry.  So, to all you whining, complaining bloggers out there, yanking on Windows Vista?

Keep up the good work!

I am not convinced that it will be a Linux killer.  With a questionable economy, I personally think that more people will turn to free and open source alternatives.

It will be interesting to see the different aspects of the W7 evolution, and whether M$ manufactures a tiered version release.

Will we see complex marketing stickers on different hardware this time around?

My guess is, that the consumers won’t settle for hard-to-understand and loaded marketing schemes this time around.

If they are smart, they won’t include a “Capable” or “Ready” marketing scheme this time, seemingly in cahoots with the hardware manufacturers.

What most people perceive as a “consumer trick” might win you one sale in one instance, but it won’t foster a long-lasting relationship with your consumer.

It will be an interesting progression to watch.

I upgraded my Ubuntu laptop from 8.04 to 8.10 this weekend.

With all the traffic, it took a few hours to download the packages.  Since it was released on Thursday of this past week, I am pretty sure that Saturday was a high traffic day for the mirrors.

I noticed that it runs pretty well.

My laptop is an ASUS A96J, with 2 GB of RAM.  It has a Core 2 Duo, T7200.

I have had it about a year and a half.

Running Ubuntu, I am expecting to get another 18 months of solid performance out of it.  I am not sure that I would have the same OS resilience if I were running Windows.

Several packages and applications were updated.  I am still tweaking and perfecting it.

The upgrade was smooth and all of my apps are working perfectly.

I have heard some friends talk about trying Linux.  Their reason for not trying it?

“There is so much maintenance that you have to do with it.  Running Windows is just easier.”

These same people are constantly asking for help to clean something nasty off of their machine.

The truth is, the cost of ownership is probably about the same for both.  Most people do not count the number of times that they get the BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) or the number of times they have to install and re-install their applications.

The thing about learning Windows, you are tied to a GUI and functions that change with each release.

The advantage that I see for using Linux?

You gain skills that build on a solid foundation.   There are still changes to the OS, but the overall function and feel of the OS is pretty much the same, without radical changes.

The Best Investment, Right Now3
Joe M posted in homelife, opinion on November 2nd, 2008

On one of the recent “This Week In Tech” podcasts, blogger and webpreneur Jason Calacanis gives advice that speaks volumes:

The best investment you can make in any market–up or down–is in yourself.

He elaborates more in a post on his blog.

I have thought about this extensively this week.  It’s a rudimentary and powerful suggestion.

WOW.

How do you invest in yourself?

It’s not necessarily about spending money.  It’s not necessarily about investing.

It’s about adding value to yourself and your skillset.

In what ways can you do that?

1.  Read – Read up on current events. Read fiction and non-fiction.  Stimulate your mind and your ideas.  Stimulation will strengthen your ideas, your opinions and your solutions.

2.  Increase your expertise – Whatever field you work in, work toward learning more about it, now.  Google it, look for books at the bookstore or online.  There is information in abundance available out there.  Check and cross-check your sources.  Take notes, and study.

3.  Challenge yourself – The best way to continue to learn is to dive into projects outside of work.  In your field, take on challenges that will offer you personal and professional growth.  It’s pretty easy to challenge yourself with IT projects at home.  If you are in Project Management, volunteer to help in your community and apply your PM skills there.  That’s a great way to add value to your resume.

4.  Develop your ideas – Set aside scheduled time to brainstorm.  Write down your ideas.  Bounce them off of others.  Concentrate on the exercise, and don’t get discouraged if they become stale or don’t progress.  Remember, the exercise is important to strengthen your ability to find solutions.

5.  Community exposure – This is in two parts.  Many great concepts are collaborations, born out of necessity, banter and criticism.

Surround yourself with others that have similar interests.  You can find them in online communities and sometimes, locally.**  It helps to get more similar perspectives.  Sometimes you teach, and sometimes you learn.

Spend time with people that have different interests and experiences.  This is important to temper your experiences and your perspective, as well as helping you to relate to others.  Ever been around a computer geek, and it’s obvious that, ‘they don’t get out much?’

Forget about what everyone else is doing.  Your goal is to add value for yourself.

With a positive attitude and some genuine effort, you have much to gain.

**There is no rule that says that sharing in an online community has to evolve to a meeting in person.  Make sure that you use good judgement in any interaction with people you don’t know.  If you are under age, inform your parents of your intentions and efforts.  Get their ‘buy-in’ before contacting anyone from a website or online community, and BE SAFE.  For adults, I would give similar advice.  Look for communities that are publicly sponsored and be completely sure that they are legitimate.  No matter what age you are, make sure you tell others where you are going, who you are meeting and when you are to return.  Set up a checkpoint in your schedule, for you to call and let them know that you are safe.  Make sure that you have 100% faith in the legitimacy of the other party.  Watch for sudden changes in plans and do not hesitate to stay home and stay safe at the slightest clue.  Ask all the probing questions, and do not worry about being rude.   Get all the details, and share them with someone else during any interacttion; whether it is just online or otherwise.  Better to be safe than sorry.