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Microsoft Wants To Help You Stay Up-To-Date0
Joe M posted in opinion, products on January 31st, 2009

Microsoft announced yesterday, they would be removing the feature in Windows that allows users to block certain updates.

Starting May 19th, XP users will automatically receive Service Pack 3.

On April 28th, they will remove the block for Vista Service Pack 1.  As of now, no announcement has been made for removing the block for Vista Service Pack 2.

For home users, this probably will be somewhat of a pain, but survivable.

For the business community, this is a potential nightmare.

We can expect a lot of catch-22’s and head-scratching.

Some older software packages that companies are running will break.

Over the past 5 years, due to budget cutbacks, companies have been prolonging the life of applications that are outdated.

There are several cases in which XP SP2 and XP SP3 have been installed, and an application or package no longer functions.

Faced with a choice of installing a Service Pack and buying an updated version to the application, or using the existing version and blocking the update; many companies have chosen the latter.

It will be interesting to see how this affects the business community, and especially interesting to see their reaction… when they have to shell out more money for an update.

It makes me wonder if Microsoft has studied and examined the entire process for impact.

I don’t expect positive feedback from the consumer community or the business community.

My suspicion is, Microsoft wants to be able to push out a feature or a service, “to help protect you from becoming a pirate,” or, “to help protect you from pirated software.”  Last year, they pushed out an update in China to black out screens of pirated versions of Windows.

With a forced update, there is much less room for piracy.

Even with all the positive response about Windows 7 Beta, this is not a good move for Microsoft.

If companies’ products or services are impacted, I am not sure what the final impact to Microsoft will be.  I can’t imagine it would be good.

Google Fights Back0
Joe M posted in products on January 29th, 2009

Google has been a leader in the voice for Net Neutrality.

Net Neutrality, and this is my definition, is an ISP or provider imposed bias on network traffic.

For example, if your provider does not want you using VOIP (like Skype or Vonage) technology, because they offer phone service, themselves, you might find that they ‘foul’ traffic from your VOIP service and make it either malfunction or not work at all.

The Net Neutrality position opposes that type of behavior by ISPs and providers.

Google now has M-Lab, the Measurement Lab Suite.

It is component suite of web services that test different components and characteristics of your network traffic, to identify possible throttling or meddling.

Network Diagnostics Tool -  a general test to see if your speed is impacted by anything on your network, or ISP.

Glasnost – used for testing Bittorrent traffic across your network.

Network Path and Application Diagnostics – used to test applications and problems that might occur locally on your ISP.

Diffprobe – Used to test traffic priority.  Does your traffic slow down, depending on the type?

NANO – tesing for bias per user, application or destination.

As of right now, Diffprobe and NANO have not yet been released.

Since I am on the East coast, the only service that I can access from these is Glasnost.

The servers for the other two services are in San Francisco, and they suggest that you pick the closest physical location to you.

I may still give them a shot to see what the results look like.

Is This Real?0
Joe M posted in products on January 28th, 2009

Does Microsoft Try To ‘Fake Us Out?’0
Joe M posted in opinion, products on January 27th, 2009

In a recent interview, Linus Torvalds made the switch to Gnome desktop, instead of KDE.

Also, in the same article, he makes an observation.

“Windows 7 being better than Vista is saying a lot. Microsoft may have a huge PR advantage, as people will compare it to Vista and think it is good so “angels will sing again” like they did with Windows 95 compared to Windows 3.1. So maybe Microsoft did this on purpose.”

I think he may be on to something.

If you look at the past few years, Microsoft has either intentionally or unintentionally moved in a fashion that gives the impression, “You think we are going to zig? We are actually zagging!”

Think about the Jerry Seinfeld ads (not that there’s anything wrong with those).

They released two ads that everyone blogged about, embedded and discussed to great extent.

Not too long after that, they released the “I am a PC” campaign.  The Seinfeld ads created a buzz, then the public attention was focused, to see what they would come out with next.

(I read Donald Trump’s Art of the Deal a few years ago.   In it, he said (paraphrased), “There is no such thing as bad publicity.  It’s all good,  if you know how to use it.”)

If you look back over the years, Microsoft has definitely had a few releases.  Some were successful.

They flirted with hardware.  Now, they remain successful in the mouse space.

Microsoft Wifi and network hardware is pretty non-existent.

OSes?  There is a long list.

Most notably, there were several releases that were not exactly up to par.

To Linus’ point… once the next release comes out after an ME, or a Vista, the consumers are hungry and ready for a decent release.

Microsoft has a major share of the world market, somewhat successful Linux FUD campaigns and a wide margin over their competition.

There are people that are still programmed to believe that their only option is to wait for Microsoft.

The public is ready for Windows 7, for sure!

Heck, I have to admit; I don’t consider myself a Windows guy, but even I am looking forward to it.  Not because I like Windows, but because I want a better alternative than Vista when they cease supporting Windows XP.

From this point on, I will definitely be paying more attention to the shape of development and releases at Microsoft.

I think if Microsoft could release OSes on a yearly basis, that would be phenomenal for them.  That would move them closer to a successful paid subscription model, which is the ideological aspiration.

That would also reduce their need to release patches every few days, with the exception of security vulnerabilities.  (I would imagine that those would still be fairly frequent.)

Bottom line, I think Linus may be pretty accurate in his observations.

Vintage Stunt Footage0
Joe M posted in music on January 26th, 2009

Wonder if Jackie Chan was influenced by this guy?

Communication Lessons From A 7-Year-Old0
Joe M posted in Musing on January 25th, 2009

From The Consumerist and Fox News…

In Houma, Louisiana, Seven-year-old Sydney Hotard saw problems with her local playground.

Instead of ignoring it, or giving up, she wrote a letter to the Parish president, Michel Claudet.

The letters were big, and the message was well-received.

She was prompted by her grandfather, a former Parish president, himself.

Claudet read the letter, took it seriously and devoted the time and resources to make the repairs.

Sydney pointed out graffiti, problems with the slide and an exposed electrical panel.

Altogether, the repairs cost $50 in time and supplies.

It’s encouraging to hear about items such as this.

It reminds us to take the time to communicate, and if you ask, you can focus attention on problems in your community.

Don’t Look Like a Jerk?0
Joe M posted in opinion on January 24th, 2009

I just got done reading Gadgets That Make You Look Like A Jerk, by Daniel Harrison, on MSNBC.

Let me say, I think that everyone is entitled to their opinion and their first amendment rights.

I do think that this article is highly subjective.

On any given day, anyone can walk into a meeting with people from another culture and / or dialectically different from them, and be considered cool or uncool, depending on the context.   Someone in the room will view them as cool or hip, and someone will find something for which to offer critique.

As for the list, many of these are socially accepted norms, these days.

Blackberries and Bluetooth headsets… Both are everywhere.  Somehow the function of each outweighs the “I look like a doofus” factor.

Somewhat in agreement, I think that there is a market for a ‘covert’ or ‘camouflage’ Bluetooth headset.  One that you could wear, that would not have the flashing blue led, maybe not even be seen  or noticed by everyone else.   That still would not eliminate the, “Are you talking to me?” factor, or the “Some nut is talking to himself” appearance.

As for Tivo, or a DVR of any kind, I don’t think anyone concentrates enough on a convenience at home to think that anyone that owns one is a jerk.  It’s a tool, not a religion or a way of life.  You don’t see too many Tivo TShirts walking around.  And…  You certainly can’t spot a Tivo or DVR user meandering through a crowd of people.

As for iPod Accessories, I don’t think anyone really notices these, unless you are walking through the crowd at the mall with the iSound Plasma ball on top of your head and it cranked up all the way.  If the focus would have been Zune accessories, I might be more inclined to agree with him.  Even the Zune is carving out it’s own little niche.

The Mac Book Air?  The truth is… most people won’t know the difference between an HP laptop or an Apple, even if the logo is glowing brightly on the back of the screen.  Unless you pull it out in a room of IT people, no one is going to know (or care) that you have a Mac Book Air.

Linux?

That is a can of worms.  I will try not to open it, other to say that I disagree with some of his statements (along with a large community of Linux users that would also.)

Linux is not a gadget, really, anyway… under the strictest interpretation.

I can’t speak for the Linux community, but as a Linux user, I don’t feel disdain for other people using other OSes.  The truth is, if I encounter someone using Windows, it’s usually a feeling of mercy.

(I won’t yank on Windows too much.  Fixing Windows problems and knowing how to, keeps millions of people employed!  How is that for accentuating the positive?)

You might be stuck with Comcast fibre cable.  As with many areas, you may only have one choice in common carrier options.

I, for one, like knowing that I have other options for an OS, regardless of how cool or not cool they may be.

Segways?

Do they look funny?  Yeah.

Would I want one?  Sure I would.

Am I gonna care if I think everyone else thinks I look like a jerk riding one?

Heck no.

What’s in today is out tomorrow, anyway.

From what I can tell, most of the people using these items on this list are more concerned with the function that each offers them, some of which may be unique.

I still applaud Mr. Harrison for his opinion, and commend him on his exercise in expressing it.  That’s even though I may not agree with all of it.

I guess, along with several other collective million(s) (of) people, I will wear my Bluetooth headset, along with my iPod accessories and continue to type my blog posts on my jerky (jerkish?) Ubuntu laptop.

And if anyone wants to give me a Mac Book Air or a Segway, I will gladly take either.  Just leave a comment.

I will take a picture of myself, riding the Segway and using the Mac Book Air,  and post it here.

That’s so everyone can enjoy even more of what a jerk I will look like, with those two additions.

Remembering High School English0
Joe M posted in art on January 23rd, 2009

In high school, my senior year, we had to learn Desiderata, by Max Ehrmann.

The senior class learned it, and recited it at the graduation ceremony, prompted by our English and Creative Writing teacher, Mrs. Betty Bland.

She was a stickler for grammar and detail.  She had a reputation for high expectations.  She also taught my mother.

Over the years, I have encountered a situation or two, in which that creative work’s meaning actually came into focus.

Sometimes, in the every day shuffle and dash, it’s easy to lose direction and get off-track.

Handling multiple tasks, dealing with different personalities and maintaining a professional disposition can easily spoil your aim and your motivation.

Desiderata
Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

At the time, we thought Mrs. Bland was just someone that enjoyed exercising her use of a red pen.

Now, more than ever do I appreciate the ideas, techniques and the familiarization with the arts offered to us by Mrs. Bland.

I had a day, today, in which I lost focus.  My goals became clouded and my motivation and tasks became muddled.

I took a walk outside to clear my head.

Thinking about high school, my memories spun me, immediately, fast-rewind to Mrs. Bland’s class.  The way they always do, because Mrs. Bland was the most influential teacher I had.

Remembering Mrs. Bland, and Desiderata, I regained my focus, today.

I forgot about the confusion going on around me, the conflicts, the aggression and the agitation.  I focused on each individual task, and doing a good job on that one task.

When the day was over, I had a great feeling of focus… accomplishment… and peace.

Tomorrow is another day, and I will approach it with confidence and an awareness that I had forgotten.

Although Mrs. Bland would probably have a stroke (just after grading them with a red pen!) at some of my blog postings, I have her to thank for the inspiration and the skills to express myself.

Here’s a salute to Mrs. Betty Bland.

Thank you, and I thank God I had you as a teacher.

Quick And Dirty On P2P0
Joe M posted in free stuff on January 21st, 2009

Viruses, Hackers & Spam: Computer Security And P2P Networks

I do not recommend using P2P for most people, but if you do, here is some pretty good advice.

Burn CDs and DVDs with DeepBurner (Windows)0
Joe M posted in Uncategorized, free stuff on January 20th, 2009

Whenever I get asked about a free software option, I like to have several options available.

In the past, there weren’t too many options for CD and DVD burning software.

Just a few years ago, the only way to burn an ISO image was to buy a copy of Nero or Roxio.  If you were ‘techy enough,’ you could use one of the CD burning packages in a Linux or a BSD distribution.

I think we are a little luckier these days.

DeepBurner has features that allow you to burn data CDs and DVDs, ISO images and audio CDs.

There is a paid version and a free version.

With the paid version, you get some more features, of course.

For basic burning functions, DeepBurner Free is great.

Browser Help For Parents — Parental Control Bar0
Joe M posted in free stuff on January 19th, 2009

The Number One Question I get on a daily basis?

“How do I clean {insert new virus name} from my Windows computer?”

The Number Two Question?

“How do I block my kids from going to certain websites, without it costing me an arm and a leg?”

I have touched on this topic before.

I came across another option at www.parentalcontrolbar.org.

It is a plug-in for your browser that lets you customize the settings for you child’s surfing permissions.

The design looks intriguing.

It offers password protection on the settings, site-blocking, white-listing, black-listing and some other features.

The design looks pretty good.

I have my doubts about it being completely fool-proof, but as long as you administer the time that your kids are using your computer, it should do a great job for you.

You should never let your kids use your computer, unattended, anyway.

The Parental Control Bar is available for Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari.

Copy Text From A Webpage, Easily with PlainCopy0
Joe M posted in free stuff on January 18th, 2009

Sometimes, I like to copy and paste info into a document from a webpage to read later.

I noticed that if I highlight the items on the webpage, and copy and paste to a document, sometimes the formatting is really a pain.

The formats get copied over to the document, and it can be troublesome to edit the document.

Most of the time, I only want the information, not the formats.

I found PlainCopy, a Firefox extension that does just that. It’s written by Márton Anka.
Normally, when you highlight items on a webpage and right-click, you get the standard Copy and Paste options.

After you install the extension, you get two additional options; Copy as Plain Text and Copy as HTML Source.

I find reading webpages a little bit monotonous and noisy at times.

If I paste the info into a document, I can compile several sources and read it later, with better focus.

The PlainCopy extension makes the task much simpler.  It’s platform independent, but there is also an Internet Explorer version.

Zork — An Oldie But Goodie0
Joe M posted in free stuff on January 17th, 2009

Back during my college days, I remember sitting in a lab using the IBM 4331 mainframe.

I spent a great deal of time there, and the times that I finally got to site down to a PC were a treat.

When I did, one of my favorite past times was playing games. After spending so much time in the lab, I loved the chance to do something mindless, for fun.

There were no deadlines, no Hexadecimal dumps to sort through on bar paper.

I hear some people say, “After sitting in front of a computer all day, I don’t want to see one after work.”

That’s not me, and it wasn’t me then, either.

I was searching around, and I stumbled on a website that had a fully functional version of Zork.

Zork is a text-based game, in which you enter commands in an interactive storyline.

It might sound lame, but it definitely became addictive.

There are several evolutions of Zork available for download and online.

If you want a quick dive into Zork, to satisfy your curiosity, check out http://thcnet.net/zork/index.php.

It’s free, but you can register and save your games via a login to the site.  So, you can pick up where you left off.

The game is browser-based, so it should work on just about any OS platform.

If you get stuck, type help and press enter.

An A Capella Tribute To John Williams0
Joe M posted in art, music on January 16th, 2009

If you are familiar with John Williams and his compositions, you will enjoy this.

Windows 7 Beta, My Install Experience0
Joe M posted in opinion, products on January 15th, 2009

I finally got my download of Windows 7 Beta.

It took a little ‘doing.,’ a few days and several starts and then — nothing.

After download number five mysteriously died, I finally managed to get the sixth one to work.

Going after a W7B product key was actually nowhere near such a tearful experience, as the download.

Everyone has posed the question, by now… but why was Microsoft so resistant / ignorant / reluctant to utilize Bittorrent to help the download process?

The download was supposed to be available on Friday.  Was it?

From what I could tell… No.

Enough griping.

On to my experience.

I burned the ISO file to a DVD, on my trusty Ubuntu desktop.

I chose the 32-bit version of W7.

Why?  Because my assumption is that everyone is going to be looking to find ways to stretch their hardware this year.  In that spirit, I figured that I would try it on a typical, older piece of hardware.

I popped the disk into an old IBM T42 laptop.

I was surprised to find that the install was relatively painless.  I had to select a timezone and type in the Product Key.

That was it!

I was multi-tasking, so I had to walk away.  45 minutes later, I checked on the install.  It was completely finished.

I rebooted.

I didn’t time the reboot, but it came back up, pretty fast.

My initial reaction was great.

The screen has the same eye-candy as Windows Vista.  I did not get the delays, blurps or quirks that I got when i tried Vista.

To echo everyone else’s sentiments, my knee-jerk reaction is that this is what Vista should have been.

I have only gotten a couple of hours so far to play around with it.  No crashes, error messages or problems, yet!

I had to grab the drivers for the wireless card, but I used the XP drivers and the install was painless.

The wireless works great, and I have seen no problems with it at all.

So far, it looks like Microsoft may ‘grab their own fumble.’

Microsoft and a couple of bloggers have dubbed W7, ‘The Linux Killer.’

Is it?

That just depends.

With the price of hardware at a low, you can get a pretty good mid-range machine for around $500.

The success of W7 will hinge on the pricing structure.  If Microsoft creates a pricing structure that is competitive, then it will continue to remain competitive with W7.

If I buy a low-end machine in the $300 range, I don’t see myself spending $500 on a license for Windows 7.

Hardware pricing has come down, and I think the price of Windows 7 will have to be calibrated proportionally and accordingly.

For me, if it is in the $150-$200 price range, I will seriously consider buying it.

For now, my main machine will always be a Linux machine, but I can always use a spare Windows machine for testing and troubleshooting.

W7 is a great effort and accomplishment.  Props to Microsoft from what I have seen, so far.

The truth is, I have a great deal more testing to do with W7.  The real problems usually show up while multi-tasking and after installing all of the software that I find necessary to be completely functional.

If Microsoft wants to kill Linux, they will have to give W7 away.

I don’t see that happening, so… if you ask me… Linux is not dead, yet.

An Idea Worth Considering0
Joe M posted in opinion on January 14th, 2009

Every so often, I catch a glimpse of an idea or a product that has great potential.

It’s not a ‘done deal,’ but I came across Martin Woodhouse’s page on the Lightbook.

The Lightbook is designed to be solar-powered.  It has a media  / memory slot by which books will be accessed.

It does not read PDFs or ebooks, but reads books in a format called Illumination, which appears to be more efficient than the previous formats; from what I can tell.

Martin’s aspiration for the Lightbook is that it is simple, green and offers one basic function — reading books.

The best part?

The Lightbook will cost under $20 (US).

The project is currently in the funding phase, and you can read more about it here.

The exciting part of projects like this one to me, is their overall effect on competition and the market.

When Nick Negraponte came up with the concept for the OLPC project, several people scoffed at the concepts, the projections and the ideas.

While, some people still seem to be a little hyper-critical of the project, no one can deny the impact and effect of such a concept.

No one was willing to admit that there was even a market for low-end, mini laptops.  Today, there are quite a few people around the world that own them.

And…

There is a whole new exploding demographic niche of netbooks, inspired primarily by the XO.

The XO has also had an impact on the software market.

With the recent interest and explosion of netbooks, it’s been a kick-in-the-pants for companies like Microsoft that want to remain competitive as an OS.

Without the XO, I am not sure there would now be a netbook market.

The netbook market brought focus and realization to the mainstream that there were improvements that could be made to Windows.

All of the sudden, everyone is focused on efficiency, and specifically efficiency in software.

From the way I see it, we are now seeing more impact as a result of such a focus –Windows 7 Beta is a good example.  If it follows through with all the expectations, it’s much lighter and more efficient than it’s predecessor versions.

I have to commend Martin Woodhouse, and wish him well in his concept and effort with the Lightbook.  I think it has great potential for opening new doors and demographics.

I love to see projects that are innovative, in concept and to the economy and market.

Manage Photos In Raw Format With RawStudio0
Joe M posted in free stuff on January 13th, 2009

After getting aggravated with a small point-and-shoot digital camera, a few months ago I bought a Nikon D60, DSLR.

It takes great pictures, and has just enough settings to have to keep in practice, using it.

It’s probably considered one of the lower-end ‘Prosumer’ cameras.

I am happy with the results so far.

After reading up on it, quite a bit, I discovered that the best format for taking pictures is in the RAW format.

Raw saves a great deal of information about the picture, colors, tones, etc.

Now, for the hurdle.

The camera came with software to allow you to manage the raw formatted photos… but it only runs on Windows.

So, I had to locate a Linux solution to managing the photos.

I came across Raw Studio.

I have tested it, just briefly, but I am pleased with the results, so far.

Here is a screenshot:

The interface takes a little getting used to, but it will allow you to take the NEF (Nikon) raw format and output it to *.jpg, *.tif, *tiff or *.png.

It will also allow you to edit photos in batch.

So many times, when I am editing photos, I lower the quality of the photo to 85% to cut down on the size of the file.

Raw Studio allows you to do that, and more.

Raw Studio is available for Linux and Mac OS X.

(I found that the easiest way to install it was to add the repositories on the website to /etc/apt/sources.list, then install it from Synaptic Package Manager, in Ubuntu.  Make sure that you grab the lines for the repositories that coincide with your version.  Also, check to make sure that your camera / manufacturer format is supported, before you go to the trouble of installing Raw Studio.)

The Power Of Social Bookmarking0
Joe M posted in free stuff on January 12th, 2009

These sites have been around for quite a while.

I guess I have always taken them for granted, that everyone knew about them, already.

Not true.

I was talking with a friend of mine today.  He asked me for a few suggestions on sites for various things.

I scratched my head for the example sites he was asking about.

Then it hit me.

Delicious!

Delicious is a site that has been big on the social scene, for quite a while.

What it is… is a place where people share links and bookmarks.

If you have a preference, Delicious is the place to share it.

The topics are endless.  Looking for free pdfs?  The best online bookstore? The best knitting technique?  Some suggestions for a DIY task?

Whenever I pull one of them up,  I do a search.   Immediately, I find the topic I was researching, along with other items for which I have been searching.

Whatever it is, make sure you check out Delicious first.

Stumbleupon is another social bookmarking website.

The great thing (some say it’s a curse) about both Stumbleupon and Delicious is that you always get sidetracked.

You’ll want to create a user profile / account on one or both sites.

The great thing about both sites is, a number of people have done some prior research on your targeted topic.  You don’t have to spend as much time as you would, wading through your search results on Google.

Learning To Code With Small Basic (Windows)0
Joe M posted in free stuff on January 11th, 2009

Microsoft has a nifty little suite for learning a little about programming basics.

Small Basic is an introduction to how keywords and syntax fits together to form programs.

Although it’s written for a younger audience, it’s also a good opportunity for anyone that has a desire to learn more about coding.

It simply has 14 keywords, but gives the new programmer a pretty good idea of how programs are structured.

The interface seems pretty simple.

If you are interested in learning just a little more about coding, you can check out Small Basic here.

Small Basic runs on Windows XP and Windows Vista, and it’s free.

Technologie Entwicklung0
Joe M posted in art on January 10th, 2009

No idea what this is about, but I loved the graphics.  Someone spent quite a bit of time on this!

Translation:  “Saturn. We hate expensive.”

Windows 7 Beta Available For Download – Tomorrow0
Joe M posted in opinion, products on January 9th, 2009

Announced earlier this week, Windows 7 Beta will be available for download tomorrow.

It will only be available to the first 2.5 million people that download it.

This will be a good opportunity to install it, and test it out, provided you don’t delay.

The reviews on it so far have been really good.

I read one article in which W7 beat benchmarks for both Windows Vista and Windows XP.

It’s been dubbed, “The Linux Killer.”

Being the eternal cynic, I will wait to pass judgement.

It seems as if Microsoft has always had the ability to produce such an animal, but for some reason chose not to.

Until now.

Being the tech fan that I am, I’m anxious to download, install and test it out… provided I can ‘get in there.’

My guess is that you should be able to find the link somewhere, starting here.

With the demand for W7, I am expecting traffic to be pretty high on the Microsoft site tomorrow.

How the site responds will be interesting to see, in itself.

Handle Frozen Windows With AntiFreeze0
Joe M posted in Uncategorized on January 8th, 2009

You sit down to your Windows machine, after a hard day’s work.

You are updating your Facebook, your MySpace, checking email, using your RSS reader, transfering songs to your MP3 player, and looking on Amazon.

All of the sudden your machine freezes.

You press a key.

Nothing.

You move the mouse.

Nothing.

You click the mouse.

Nothing.

How many times has it happened?

Sometimes, you can press CTRL-ALT-Del and bring up the task manager and close a few items, then maybe it might become responsive again.

Resplendence Software has a utility that looks promising.

AntiFreeze brings up a Window that suspends the running processes, and allows you to end those that are problematic.  That’s even during situations in which the Windows Task Manager won’t.

The interface looks pretty good, some similarities to the Windows Task Manager.

To activate the interface, you press ALT-CTRL-Windows-HOME.

AntiFreeze is not open source, but the website reports that it is currently free for non-commercial use.

iTunes Plus: DRM-Free, With New Pricing0
Joe M posted in music, opinion on January 7th, 2009

After spending almost a week wrestling with my friends two iPods, Apple announced today that changes will be made to the iTunes music store.

iTunes Plus will be offering releases from the four major labels and from thousands of Independent (Indie) labels.

The songs are offered DRM-Free, starting today.

DRM, Digital Rights Managment, is a strategy to which most of the MP3 users and movie fans have struggled to adjust.

Up until now, songs that you purchased through iTunes were downloaded and stored in your library in an encrypted file format.  It has been an effort to keep songs from being copied and used ‘illegally.’ This also slowed down or prevented users from having flexibility with the songs they purchased.

Simply put, it’s copy protection.

In the end, it’s the honest people that were inhibited the most.  The pirates quickly figured out ways around the protection.

Apple also announced a new pricing structure for iTunes music, which will be effective this April.  The new pricing structure will offer songs at $0.69, $0.99 and $1.29.

The price of each song will be chosen / set according to the price that the labels charge Apple.

For iPhone owners, songs will be available for download, directly over the 3G iPhone service.

This is good news.

Thank God for competition and the free market.

Hidden HP Printer Support In Ubuntu0
Joe M posted in Home Support, free stuff on January 6th, 2009

Doing some research for my parents, I came across something surprising.

When I set their machine up, I installed Ubuntu.

Since that time, I have upgraded the distribution a couple of times.

It has been putting along now for over a year, with few hitches.

I initially set up their HP Officejet 5750 with the regular CUPS driver.

It has been printing nicely, but during Christmas, my mom asked me to get the scanner portion working.

A few days later, I came across an interesting website.

As it turns out, HP produces a full driver suite that supports many distributions, both *.rpm and *.deb based.

There is a listing of supported devices on the website, but there are many multi-function printers that are supported.

Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) has the full packages pre-installed.

The basic drivers are there, but to get the pretty GUI screens for setup…  Go to…

System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager

Search for hplip-gui in the search box at the top of the manager.

Find it in the listing, click on it, and mark it for installation.  It will ask for confirmation to install some other packages.  Click OK.

Once the install is complete, close Synaptic Package Manager.

To begin the setup, you simply open a console.

$> sudo hp-setup

The system will prompt you for the password, but that should get you started.

The first window you will see is…

Many of the printers are supported for faxing, printing and scanning.  Check the website for a listing of specific supported features for each specific printer.

Once the drivers are set up, you can use Xsane to scan your pictures and documents.

Go to Applications > Graphics > XSane Image Scanner.

Dealing With iPods and DRM0
Joe M posted in Howto, music on January 5th, 2009

I have had an iPod shuffle for a few years now.

It does the job for me, and I like the fact that it’s solid state. It has no moving parts and is a little more shock resistant than most of the other hard drive MP3 players, including some of the hard-drive -based iPods.

I was asked to help a friend transfer their songs from one iPod to another.

Remembering some of the hurdles I have had with iTunes in the past, I immediately went into panic mode.  I remember some vague issues when I got mine: Windows crashing, losing my library, and subsequently having to try and recover everything.

My memories had me trembling in terror.  DRM monsters were lurking under my bed while I slept.  They were infiltrating my dreams, while I was contemplating this arduous task.

My friend had two iPods. A 60GB 5th gen video, and he had just gotten a 32 GB Touch for Christmas.

He wants to keep both operational, and keep both sync’d with his current library.

After Googling and reading extensively, I found out the following:

1. You can sync up to five iPods to one iTunes library.

2. The sync works like this: iTunes >> iPod. You can’t copy songs back to the PC.

3. There is a singular iTunes library to iPod relationship. You can’t sync your iPod with multiple libraries.

There are probably some idiosyncratic loopholes in the process that will allow you to perform different functions, but keeping it simple seemed like a good move on my part.

There are ways in which you can connect multiple user accounts to one library. Being that my friend is not an IT guy; I decided to withhold the information and avoid having that discussion with him.

Things I did notice; I had to shut down several programs running in the system tray.  I had to pause some transfers that were problematic.

Without being able to pinpoint the actual issue, the software relationship between iTunes v.8 and Windows XP seem to have a couple of bugs. Several times, I received

“iTunes has encountered a problem and needs to shut down.”

This was accompanied by the regular “send info to” and “don’t send” info buttons to Microsoft.

I am not sure how that information actually gets collected at Microsoft.  My cynical imagination always make me think of an electronic garbage can to which the electronic message gets routed at the Redmond facility.

About the third time I got the message, I let the message just sit on the screen.  I watched the iTunes status keep copying files to the iPod in the background.

Subsequently, with the error message still on the screen, iTunes reached a ‘completed’ status and “OK to disconnect.”

Once it was complete, I clicked “don’t send.”

iTunes closed.

I checked the iPod. The transfer worked, in spite of the error.

My recommendation is going to be for him to wait for an iTunes update, rather than un-installing and re-installing iTunes and the other Apple software.

I had to jump through a couple of hoops on this little assistive task, but I did learn a couple of things.

This time, I may declare the battle with the DRM monsters a draw, and I may sleep once again.

Even though it can be ‘a pain,’ I think the exercise is a good one to help keep you on your IT toes.

I was lucky in this instance, because the Touch was new, and blank.  Should my friend have wanted to preserve the songs on it in addition to the library sync, that would have been another issue and hurdle, altogether.

The regular iPod interface is cool. There is no other interface quite like it… except for another iPod.

The Touch… is really cool, too. That is only the second time that I have gotten a chance to play around with one.

I would love to have one, but I don’t know if I could ever give myself permission to spend that much money on something, just for the cool factor.

A Symphony Of Windows Startups0
Joe M posted in Musing on January 4th, 2009

Opera, A Great Browser Alternative1
Joe M posted in free stuff, products on January 3rd, 2009

It’s good to have more than one alternative.

The more choices you have, the easier it is to troubleshoot when something goes wrong.

Using Firefox over the past few days, I have noticed certain flash video sites seem to freeze.

I installed Opera, another web browser, some time ago; but have not used it as much.

Firefox is a great browser, but there are times in which it leaves a little bit to be desired.

Quite a few people have it installed, these days.

Just out of curiosity, I opened Opera, after not using it for so long, and found that it readily played my flash video sites without a hitch.

The interface is attractive, and fairly intuitive.

Firefox has extensions and plug-ins, and users can program them and share them.

Opera has similar offerings, called widgets. I did notice that there are not quite as many, but still most of the same functions are there.

The webpage for setting up and installing the widgets is pretty sweet.  There is a launch button, that pops the widget up and asks you if you want to keep the widget.

That’s easier than installing some extensions in Firefox.

Opera is fully customizable, just like Firefox.  There are some mouse gesture functions that are built-in.  It can be executed from a command line with several options for command line switches.

If you want to surf the internet without a mouse, Opera is up to the task.

In using Opera, I have not seen any lockups or slow-downs.

It’s good to have an alternative browser available, in case I need it.

Opera is freely available for download and use here.

You can browse and explore the widgets here.

Opera is available for Windows, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, Linux and Solaris… not to mention several mobile platforms.

Interesting Quandary For Microsoft 30GB Zunes0
Joe M posted in opinion on January 2nd, 2009

Yesterday, 30 GB Zunes everywhere became non-responsive for a day.

It’s an interesting issue.

It turns out, the problem was due to a bug in the code for the way in which the internal clock for the Zune handles a leap year.

Check out “The Day The Zunes Stood Still.”

The bug did not affect any of the other Zune models, only the 30 GB model.

Microsoft reported that the problem can be fixed by letting the battery drain, completely, then docking and recharging. This will reset the internal clock.

Makes you wonder, why only the 30 GB model?

The answer to that, I am not sure.

It does bring up interesting questions, though.

If Microsoft created the code, the OS, and the player hardware; why did this problem occur?

My opinion is, that it brings to the forefront the importance of community.

Who is Microsoft’s community?

The Microsoft community is businesses, end users and developers. That includes developers at Microsoft and third parties; and anyone else that could potentially contribute to Microsoft’s success.

The best products for the Windows platform, in my opinion, are those products that are created by third parties.

I am not sure what it is, but there seems to be a hidden strength in the other companies that develop and apply their expertise to applications on the Windows platform.

Microsoft did something wonderful by recognizing the ideas and efforts by SysInternals, and bought the company.

I think this is a good thing, provided that the efforts by SysInternals are not squandered or subsequently and indirectly impacted by the acquisition.

Without being an expert on development, versioning techniques or code; my knee-jerk reaction is that being on the outside in that arena offers those third parties some sort of an advantage.

Somehow, I think the concept of meritocracy comes into play.

The Open Source and Linux developers figured that out, a long time ago. I think that Apple and Linux have a such a connection to their respective communities.

In the end, I have to applaud Microsoft for diving into the MP3 player market. I think it was a bold move.

I have my ‘regular guy’ criticisms of both the Zune and the iPod, just like anyone else, but I have to give credit where credit is due.

This was only a minor issue, and I doubt that it would keep any of the owners from buying another 30 GB Zune, if they got a second chance.

In my opinion, I do think that Microsoft could gain a great deal more from their community. It will also involve communication and feedback.

Happy New Year From Braintubes.com!0
Joe M posted in Uncategorized on January 1st, 2009

Not a long post this evening, but I did want to take time out to thank the readers and participants.

2008 has been a good year, and I have enjoyed the work that I have done on braintubes.

Thank you for the feedback that I have received.

In 2009, my aspirations are to change the format and theme. I also aspire to have some other people as guest writers in the coming year, and offer a wider range of topics.

Since I am such a GEEK, Braintubes will still be tech-centric, but I want to widen the range of topics to include more than just technology.

If you think you might be up to making a contribution through writing, please drop me a line, admin@braintubes.com.

Please feel free to comment, critique or offer any suggestions on how I might improve the website.

Happy New Year, 2009!