I was just browsing through some security-related blogs, and came across this posting on Security Tips & Talk.  They’re talking about the ease in which Governor Palin’s e-mail address was hacked, and how it affects you and me.

Here’s the problem…  Sites are using “information that’s only known to you” questions for their password resets, and in some cases, once you answer the questions they allow you to change the password right then and there.  Sounds like a good thing right?  And an easy thing to remember too, so what’s the problem?

The problem is, you may have blogged or put something up in a website or forum about how your first pet was “Georgie” and you miss him dearly.  Or pictures of “Georgie” are floating on the Internet (complete with his name).  So, when a person is trying to break into your account, they get your secret questions, and then Google (used as the “common” term only—any search engine works wonders) you for the answers.  If you’ve posted anything with that answer, they can find it.

So, what can we do about this?  Well we can’t tell our banks or other places not to use those questions.  We can, but it will take an effort by a lot more than just you and me to get them to look at it.  What we CAN do is this:  Go to every site that we use frequently, and change those answers.  Make a fake name for your first pet, or if there was a nickname that you and your friends had for your school, use that (ONLY if you’ve never posted it online).  Same thing with your first car—use the nickname that you had for it, instead of what type it is.

Another tool that is extremely useful is a Password Manager.  These programs are a one-stop spot for all of your password needs.  All you have to do is remember one password to unlock the vault, and you can get into any site that you’ve stored in the manager.  Some of them will allow you to generate passwords as well.

I’ll look into a few of them and tell you about them tomorrow.

Have a great day:)
Patrick.

Hey again everyone...

Ok, in my last post, I described the backup solutions that I've tried and my opinions of them.  Now, I'm getting into my recent lesson.

The problem:

    Ok, to start, I've had some problems with Vista and updates for a while.  Everyone's had the "failed update" and "repeat update" occasionally, I'm sure.  My first "issue" was with Service Pack 1.  I had to hard reset my computer a few times to get it to actually install.

     A few weeks ago, I tried to install Internet Explorer 8 (Beta).  When I would try to run it, I would get a Data Execution Prevention (DEP) error, and it would crash immediately.  So, I uninstalled it.  From then on, IE7 would give me strange problems.  Like error messages saying that it couldn't open the page (even though it was open) with "Operation Aborted", and when I would type in a page, half of my keystrokes wouldn't show up at all.

    A friend of mine gave me a pre-release copy of the Windows Media Center TV Pack update.  So, I installed that, and ran into issues with it.  I would get fake "Broadcast Flag" messages from TV programs-- regardless of whether I was recording them or not.  So, I called Microsoft and went through the troubleshooting steps with them.

     The first thing we tried was uninstalling the TV Pack.  That wasn't possible, since the update (installation) was corrupted, and it didn't put an uninstall option in.  So, our next step was to do an in-place upgrade (also known as "Repair") of Vista.  That failed, because I have Service Pack 1 installed, and I was using an original Vista RTM DVD.  So, I was told to uninstall SP1, and then do the in-place upgrade.  Then reinstall SP1 and the TV Pack.

The attempted solution:

    When I tried to uninstall Service Pack 1, the computer needed to reboot.  In the process of rebooting, it shut itself down.  Been here before....  Well, no matter what I did, I couldn't get SP1 to uninstall or the computer to boot up. 

     So, here I am thinking "I'm going to lose everything."  I haven't backed up this computer at all..  OK, I used One Care to back it up in 2007, then uninstalled One Care shortly after.  If you've used One Care and tried looking at the backup, it's a series of .zip files that only OneCare knows what's in.  You can find out, but it would take forever to go through them all.

    I grabbed my Image For DOS disk, and made an image of the corrupt drive.  The reasoning behind this is, while the updates and programs are worthless to me, the data and user-settings are still good. 

    Then I proceeded to completely reinstall Windows Vista.  And I updated it until it said there was nothing else.  Strangely enough, I haven't received the Media Center TV Pack update yet, but I'm not too worried about that one.  Then I took my USB drive and made an image of the base system.  Now, I'm installing everything else.

    Image For DOS worked like a charm. The only glitch that I had was this.  I tried to image the base system to an older 20G hard drive-- using a third party enclosure that I bought a while back.  The imaging program claimed that there was no room on the drive (in reality, there was no actual partition).  So, I had to put the image on a different USB drive.  No problem... It validated and everything.

    I copied the base image to the 20G drive, and tried to validate it.... No dice.  It wouldn't complete the validation.  But, it did validate on the other external drive.  Then, I used TerabyteUnlimited's TBIView (their image viewing program) to see if the 20G drive was good.  I was able to open the file, and go through the folders without a problem.  So, I'm guessing that it's a good image.  (TerabyteUnlimited makes Image For DOS.)

    What I've learned from this is three things. 

1. Make sure you back up regularly and have contingency plans set up for your data (normally I store everything on external or network drives, so an Operating System reinstall doesn't affect my files).
2. When you first install an OS (or reinstall one), make a base image of the installation and all current updates.  That way, if you have to restore your image, you don't have as many updates to get.  Do this before you install your Antivirus and Firewall programs, just in case you decided later on that you don't like the ones you originally started with.
3. Validate your backups.  If it means doing a restore, then that's what you have to do.  Most third party programs (Acronis, Image For DOS, etc) will have ways to validate the backups without a restore.  The good ones do for sure. 

Hopefully this set of posts inspires people to backup regularly.  I can tell you that I'm cleaning out my laptop, and am going to make an updated image of it.  Then, I'm going to start imaging it on a weekly basis.  The same with my desktops and their data.  In the end, it doesn't matter who's program you use.  Just as long as you use them, and test them.  And if you make any MAJOR changes, then redo your backups-- although you should be redoing them regularly. 

Have a great weekend everyone:)

Patrick.

Hey everyone,

    I know everyone's heard over and over again that you should back up your data and programs once in a while.  But, you're thinking "Who has time to do that?" or "Why should I do that?"  Well, I found out last weekend first-hand, why it's a good idea to keep backups of everything.

A little background:

     I have two computers and a laptop running most of the time.  My main computer is running Windows Vista Ultimate, my second computer is running Ubuntu Linux, and my laptop is running XP Media Center (I haven't upgraded it to Vista). 

My backup strategy (or lack of):

     I've tried various backup strategies including Vista's Complete PC Backup, Acronis True Image trials and betas, and Image For DOS. 

     Vista's Complete PC Backup was a failure when I tried it.  Now, I have to admit that I tried it during the beta, and haven't touched it since then.  But, when it didn't restore a base system, I wasn't impressed.  Also, I backed the image up to DVD's, so that may have been a factor.  My biggest gripe with Vista's backup is that the only way to "validate" your backup is to restore it.

     Acronis is nice.  I've used it for my desktops in the past with great success. I've even restored an image with it.  However, for some reason it totally locks up my laptop.  I can run it in safe-mode, however I'm limited in my options there.  The "Full version" locks up.  So, I can't recommend it for laptop users-- although my situation could be a one in a million occurrence.  I need to note also, that my laptop is a Toshiba Satellite from Wal-Mart, so that may be a factor as well.

     Image For DOS is the one that I'm currently using.  It's $29.95 for the full version, and you also get a copy of Image For Linux.  Does it work?  Yes.  I was able to back  up all of my PC's to external hard drives.  And the nice thing is that I can validate the backups simply by booting to their CD/floppy, and selecting the Validate option.  I had one minor glitch with this that I'll mention in my later post-- but it was more a hardware than software glitch.

More to come...

Have a great weekend:)
Patrick.

Hey everyone,

    This post is a bit late in coming, but still applies.  Occasionally I still get questions from friends (and others) about the differences in Internet speeds, and about the 32-bit/64-bit processors.  So, I thought I'd post my analogies about them here. 

     They are intended to oversimplify the concepts, so I don't touch on technical aspects too much.  Feel free to comment on them, and help me improve on them.

Internet Speeds:

    Ok, the two main questions that I get here are what is the difference between dial-up and broadband?  and what are the differences between satellite, cable, and DSL?

The analogy that I use here is if you look at an hourglass.  If the hourglass has a tiny hole, then it takes a while for the sand to fall through. But, if the hourglass has a bigger hole, then the same grains of sand will fall quicker.  Dial-up is a tiny hole, and each of the "broadband" speeds are bigger holes.  So, the bigger the hole, (Internet Speed) the faster the sand (your downloads, games, web pages, etc) will flow through it.

As for Cable/DSL/Satellite, my analogy is this.  For cable and DSL, I use the concept of an Interstate with exit ramps.  If you're on cable, then there's an exit ramp, and you are among a group of people and businesses on the road from that exit.  If you're the first in line, then you get the most traffic.  As you move further back in line, you get less traffic.

DSL is the same Interstate, except that you are the only person on your exit.  So, you always get the most possible traffic.

How this translates to your connection is, if you're further back on the cable line, you get less "bandwidth" (see speed above) than your neighbors.  It's not like they'll be on broadband and you'll be on dial-up, but for extremely bandwidth intensive things (giant downloads or online gaming) you'll be a bit slower.  On DSL, within reason, you get the bandwidth that you're supposed to.

32-bit vs. 64-bit Processing.

    To describe this, I use the Interstate analogy again with a twist.  I tell people to imagine an interstate with 4 lanes on each side, and one with 8 lanes on each side.  Then I tell them if you put the same amount of traffic on both of them, which would go faster?

    As for the fact that 64-bit programs don't work on 32-bit processors and that you have to do special things to make 32-bit programs work on 64-bit processors (with a 64-bit OS), I basically say that the 64-bit programs/OS need more lanes than the 32-bit ones.  For the reason why you have to install something (WOW, for example) to allow 64-bit OS's to use 32-bit programs, I just say that the new OS isn't normally designed to run the older programs, so you have to give it some help.

Hopefully these analogies help someone understand the differences.  And as I mentioned before, please comment and help me to improve on them.  If you have your own analogies or explanations, I want to hear them.  Maybe, I'll use them as well (and put them into another blog post).

Have a great weekend everyone:)
Patrick.

Well, I've found something with the University of Phoenix that I'm not too happy about as far as Chrome goes.  I noticed this the last few days, but didn't think much of it.. Until tonight.  When I post in the forums and download them into a newsreader, Chrome's rendering of HTML is horrible.  In fact, the newsreader that I'm using (Windows Mail) shows the actual html tags in place of their formats.

Now, someone is thinking "That's because you're using Windows Mail (or OE)."  Here's the thing though.  Posts written in Firefox and Internet Explorer come through fine.  And my instructor asked me to fix my HTML problem, because it's clogging the school's servers. 

So, in as much as I love using Chrome there, it's out of the question until they fix that issue...

Now, as for what Google hypes about Chrome.  No, it's not totally perfect as far as security goes.  Within hours of their release, four vulnerabilities were discovered.  All four of them would have allowed someone to execute code on a user's system.  And at least two of them didn't require active user intervention (one automatically downloaded files to the desktop, and one activated if you hovered over a link).

So, what's different between Chrome and Internet Explorer or Firefox?  Chrome has been out a week, and all four of those vulnerabilities are fixed (pending testing by researchers).  The new version was distributed via automatic updates.

How about the crash-proofing?  Well, it's not perfect.  I've had a couple of crashes where Windows just popped up the Problem And Reporting dialog box.  As for "one tab crashing and not taking the whole browser down" I've seen it in action. 

I opened up my myspace account, and had another tab open.  Myspace locked up, but I was able to go into the other tab without any problems.  This afternoon, the Adobe Acrobat Plugin crashed in one tab.  I clicked "Ok" on the box, and the tab went blank.  But, the other tabs were working fine.  I simply closed the pdf file tab, and went on with my day.

So, while certain sites won't work with Chrome (Sharebuilder is one that I know of off-hand), and it doesn't play very nice with my college site, I have to give Chrome two thumbs up.  It won't be my default browser until I can safely use it in my college, but it's good enough that I'll manually choose it over anything else.

Until next time, have a great night everyone.

Patrick.

Hi everyone,

    Last week, Google decided to enter the browser wars with their "Chrome" browser.  Two of it's biggest claims are the "Sandbox" feature (which improves security) and it's ability to not crash if one tab crashes or becomes unresponsive.   Within a couple of days, I downloaded it and took it for a test run...

   The first thing I wanted to test out was whether or not it would work at the University Of Phoenix's online campus.  Currently they only recommend Internet Explorer and Firefox (although other browsers may work there).  I logged in, and proceeded to go to my class.

    What I like about using Chrome at UoP.  In Internet Explorer and Firefox, when you click the "Go to Class" button, it opens a new window.  Chrome opened it in a new tab.  In fact, about the only things that didn't open in a new tab were my grade summary and new message compositions.  It worked smoothly, and was faster than IE or Firefox. 

     I didn't risk taking my "Math assessment" through Chrome, although I'm tempted to go back now and try it.  The only thing I can think of off-hand that I didn't like was that when you download a file, it prompts you to save it (regardless of whether you choose the "View" or "Download" option.  And you have to single click to open the file in the download bar (double-clicking opens two copies).  But in reality, those are minor issues that they don't need to mess with.

Well, that's enough for this post.  I'll do part two in a little while, after I go play around with Chrome some more.

Have a great day everyone :)

Patrick.

Hey everyone,

     Just a short note to ask people to check out my web sites and my other official blog.  If you see anything that you want me to cover on them, let me know by dropping me an e-mail or a comment.  I'm looking for any ideas and motivation to keep them updated, since I think I'm about the only one who's actively checking them.

The links are http://patscomputersolutions.com   http://pats-computer-solutions.no-ip.biz http://patscomputerservices.com and my blog at http://patscompservices.blogspot.com.

The computerservices.com site is on Office Live and is done in ASP format.  The no-ip.biz site is my home server, and is what I'm moving my other web site too.  The patscomputersolutions.com site is my freewebs site, and is a combination of the older template and the newer one. 

Please let me know which template you like more of the three.  If I can, I'll try to make all three look the same (although I can't change the template for the Office Live space, so it may look different anyhow).

Have a great day everyone:)
Patrick.

Hey everyone,

     I know that Politics and Religion are two things that are guaranteed to provoke a fight. So normally I wouldn't touch on either of them.  But, after watching portions of the Republican National Convention, I decided that I wanted to voice my opinions (and see if anyone agrees with me).

      FOR THE RECORD...  I'm registered as Independent in my State and have always been.  I used to solicit for donations for the Republican Party, because that's what the company I got a job with did (telemarketing).  They also solicited for the Smokers' Rights Movement and the Iowa Sportsmens' Federation, amongst other causes.  And I haven't decided who I'm voting for this time around (although I'm tempted to throw my name into the ring for 2012 just for the Hell of it...)

     After having watched a portion of Governor Palin's speech, and an hour of John McCain's speech, I've come up with two opinions.   1)  If the ticket were Palin for President, and McCain for Vice President, I'd seriously consider voting for them.  2)  McCain doesn't come across with the fire that Obama does.  He sounds like the wise old Grandpa who's trying to stay calm and get everyone to calm down in a crisis-- as opposed to the young buck trying to pave his own way into the world.

      Here's the important portion of my post.  It really doesn't matter what either candidate says between now and the Election.  Because unless they get a Congress who's going to stand up to the Lobbyists and other Special Interest groups, and vote the way the American People want them to, it's all rhetoric and bull-sh*t.  They both know that they're making idle promises, and they know that some of the People are smart enough to know this also.  But, they're counting on the majority of the People to believe them over the truth.

     So, we all need to wise up.  Push your Congressman or Congresswoman.  See if they're going to stand up for your wishes over the Special Interest groups and Lobbyists.  If not, get them out of office and put someone in who will.  Because regardless of who's at the top of the ladder, they're just a figurehead without any power, unless we get a Congress who will support them and our beliefs and desires.  Also, push your Congressman and Congresswoman, and see if they're willing to put Partisanship aside for the betterment of the American People.  If not, then they need to go.

     It should be PEOPLE not PARTY that matters most of all.

Have a great day everyone:)  Back to my usual dribble....

Patrick.

Hi everyone,

    I sent out an invitation to everyone in my address book, for the Pickens Plan.  I've had a couple of people join, and a couple ask me what it's about.  So, I thought I'd put it here, and ask anyone who reads this if they have other ideas...

    In short, the Picken's Plan is creating a network of Wind-generated power plants throughout the Great Plains.  This electricity will replace the 22% of our current electricity that comes from Natural Gas.  The Natural Gas, will then be used to fuel automobiles.  This should reduce our demand on oil (foreign oil specifically) by about 38%.

    The entire plan is meant to be a bridge until we can find sources of renewable energy (hydrogen, electricity, water, etc) to fuel our cars. 

    Personally, I think we'll end up with a combination of Wind, Solar, and Geothermal or Hydroelectric power plants.  By creating this, we could potentially reduce the use of coal, as well as replace the Natural Gas. 

    As for our vehicles, we need to push Congress, auto manufacturers, and the other components manufacturers to find better ways for powering our cars.  Hydrogen is used in Greenland and Iceland.  Pure Ethanol is used in South America.  Hybrids are a good start, but they're not enough.  We need all-electric cars. 

    We need to find ways to recharge the batteries in a quick time.  If we can get them charged in less than an hour, people will be more apt to buy them.  Also, we need to find ways to increase their range.  Right now, electric vehicles (EV) are good for short-range trips.  To work, and school; or shopping for groceries in your local town.  We need to get their range out farther.

    Another source of charging could be something from a Role-playing game that I used to play (Gamma World).  They used "Broadcast electricity" to power everything from lights, to stoves, to weapons.  In the real-world, broadcast electricity could be used to keep our vehicles powered while we're driving down the road.  This could be accomplished through induction (a large scale version of the Magma Charger which uses induction paddles to create a transformer in the car's charger). 

    Anyhow, if anyone has better ideas (or can improve on the ideas that I put up), please comment or e-mail me with them....  Together, we can all make a difference.

Have a great day:)
Patrick.

Hi everyone,

This isn't a rant about copyright or copy-left or anything like that. But, it is one reason why they will fail to get everyone, and will not stop the flow of dowloaded music and movies.

First of all, they cannot stop every site that hosts the files or .torrent files.  As much as they may want to believe that they can, it's impossible.  All they can do is take down the sites that they know about.  But, when they take one down, another or more than one pop up to take it's place. 

Napster was first... They took it down in a very public way.  KaZaa, Morpheus, Xupiter, and a host of others showed up to take it's place...  They took them down, and now bittorrent sites (which were originally and still intended to host Linux distributions and other "legal" works) popped up.  They can't take down bittorrents, but they can go after their search engines.  AS they take them down, more come up.

The other main reason why they'll fail is this.  There are way too many people who have wireless Internet connections, and don't  know how to secure them. Along those lines, you have "hot spots" which have completely open wireless.  And even those who don't have "open" wireless don't monitor what their users are doing. 

So, mom and dad may not have KaZaa, but their neighbor may.  But it won't be the neighbor who gets popped and sued.  Same thing goes for the coffee shop down the road.  They're the ones who will be sued (not the user who tapped in).

Just driving through a small town in Nebraska, I can't say how many "open" wireless connections I've found.  And I'm not even a "war driver."  I don't have the fancy or rudimentary antennas.  All I'm running with is the built-in Atheros wireless that my laptop came with.

If I know who it is that has the "open" wireless, I've talked to them about securing it.  But, if I don't know, I'm surely not going to go door to door and say "Hey, if you have wireless, I want to thank you for letting me update my laptop while I was driving by.  Now secure it so no one else can." 

If you don't think that the neighbor could or would use your wireless to steal music, just remember.  There is no honor amongst thieves.  They're stealing music... Do you really think that they'll say "Oh it's ok to steal music from the record companies, but by God, I can't steal wireless from my neighbor."????

Part of this falls on the ISP's but part of it falls on places like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Staples, and Circuit City (just to name a few).  They are selling these routers and modems, and they're NOT properly explaining the need for security.  So, if you provide a wireless access point (whether you be the ISP with a modem or a store with a router), it's YOUR responsibility to make sure the end-user knows to secure their network.

Have a great weekend everyone.:)
Patrick.

Hi everyone,

     This is one of my few non-tech blog posts.  Yesterday (July 25) the world lost one of it's great men.  Randy Pausch, a professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, passed away from Pancreatic Cancer.  He was 47, and left behind a wife, three children, and a world who may become just a little better by taking note of his life.

     While I didn't know Professor Pausch, I did become familiar with him when Steve Hartman did a report on him for CBS Evening News.  Professor Pausch gave a lecture (as a requirement for all Carnegie Mellon Faculty) called the "Last Lecture".  Except for him, this was a "Last Lecture."  He also gave a lecture for the University of Virginia (which was one of his former employers) on "Time Management" which took on a special meaning. 

    Honestly, I had forgotten about Professor Pausch shortly after seeing the segment on CBS Evening News.  However this afternoon, I saw the article on their website about his passing.  I've since watched three of his videos on YouTube ("Last Lecture", "Time Management", and his address to the Graduating Class of 2008).  I think everyone who reads my blog (or at least this post) should check out these videos.  You'll walk away with a new outlook on life.  I know I have.

    Some of the things that Professor Pausch has given us:  Virtual Reality (he was a pioneer in various applications of it), the Entertainment Technology Center, certain projects at Disney which involve VR, and "alice" which is a new generation of Computer Programming.

     Here are the links to his videos.  "Last Lecture", "Time Management", and "Address to the Class of 2008"

     Rest In Peace.  You will surely be missed, and your legacy will live on and continue to touch people's lives.

     Have a wonderful weekend everyone :)
Patrick.

Hey everyone,

    I noticed as of Thursday, the price of oil has dropped almost $15.00.  I wonder how much of that has to do with people saying "Enough is enough.  I'm not driving my car, when gas is this high.", so the supply is higher than the demand...

    It's tempting now that Oil is on it's way down (we can only hope), to start driving more again.  I'm posting this as a call to everyone.  If you quit driving a lot because the cost of Gas was too high, DON'T start driving more now.  If you do, then the oil companies and the speculators will drive the prices back up (claiming that the supply is lower now that people are driving more).  So, make them drop the price a bit more before we start using our cars.... 

    If you're one who didn't quit driving because of the high cost of Gas, I urge you to consider this.  Plan all of the stops that you have to make, and make as few trips as you can.  Drive less.  Use less Gas, so that will drive the supply up higher, and the demand down lower.  Eventually the prices will drop some more. 

    Consider this.  August of 2007, Oil was $75.00 a barrel.  Wednesday, Oil was $145.00+ a barrel.  What happened in that time-frame?  Nothing that dramatically impacted the oil supply.  There's a saying that goes like this. "No evil deed should go unpunished."  Driving the cost of oil up almost $100.00 a barrel is an evil deed, and now it's time that WE enact some punishment.

    It would be different, if the Oil Companies were barely making ends meet-- even at the high cost of oil.  But they've been hosting record profits ever since 2006 (if not earlier).  RECORD PROFITS.  That means they're not barely making ends meet.  They're reaping the rewards of their evil deeds.  But we (the people paying for the Gas) aren't reaping any rewards.  We're barely making ends meet. 

     I'm NOT proposing something stupid like "Don't buy gas on this day."  I'm proposing a systematic revolution.  By driving less, and pre-planning all of your stops (as much as possible), we're buying less Gas every day.  That will hurt them where it counts.  It's going to take a while (months or years) but it WILL work.

     Now, what do I mean by pre-planning?  Ok, if you currently get groceries on Monday, pick up some prescriptions on Thursday, get your mail every day from the Post Office (or send mail at the Post Office every day), Take the kids out for supper on Tuesday, and go to the movies on Friday:  Combine trips.  Get your mail on Wednesday and Saturday.  Get the prescriptions filled on Tuesday (so you don't have to make three trips to that area, and you'll never worry about running out). 

     In other words, if it's something that you don't have to do separately, then do it on the same trip.  Plan so you're either hitting a place close then far then close then home, or starting out far, and working your way closer to home.  But, make it a route that uses the least amount of travel time (which means the least amount of Gas).

   Together, WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Patrick.

Hi everyone,

   I was thinking about this earlier and wanted to post about it as well.  Microsoft is making available the technical documentation for thousands of their programs.  I haven't checked to see if this includes Outlook Connector or Hotmail/Windows Live at all, but I'd like to see that.

   I've been trying out Ubuntu Linux, and the main issue I have is that I can only download my Inbox from my Windows Live accounts.  This is through third party applications.  I would like to see either the Outlook Connector add-in or the API for the Windows Live that it uses be released.  That way, third party e-mail clients can once again access their accounts.

    Microsoft is already charging users to be able to access it via Outlook Connector (at least the Calendar features).  So, they have nothing to lose by opening it up for third party e-mail clients. 

    The concept that it will reduce SPAM is bogus, since it really hasn't lowered the amount of SPAM coming from (or purporting that it comes from) Windows Live accounts.  And Microsoft is already making money on people wanting to utilize the calendar functions via Outlook.  So, it's a win-win situation if they open the source or the API's.

    Once again, any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated. 

Have a great day everyone :-)
Patrick.

Hi everyone,

    This is not a call for opening up the source for Windows or Office (as that will never happen).  But, it is a call for Microsoft to truly open the source for some of their products.  The one specific product that I can think of is the .NET Framework. 

    Now, some will say that you can view the source code for .NET, however you cannot use it for GPL or other "Open" licensed projects (read MONO or WINE on Linux).  I'm calling for Microsoft to collaborate (or at least allow them to incorporate the source-code) with those two projects. 

     What are the benefits for Microsoft to allow them to freely use the code?  First, it will allow Microsoft to sell products to Linux users without having to open their source-code up.  Secondly, it will encourage developers to create applications that work with the frameworks (which means it can easily be used on Windows or Linux), and third, it will have the potential for fixing flaws and vulnerabilities in the framework.

    I'll tackle the first benefit now.  There are a few Linux users who would want to use Office, or other Microsoft products (or have requirements where they have to use these products), but can't.  Microsoft will not port their products over to Linux, because they could be forced to open their source-code up.  The whole "It's a competing OS" doesn't fly, because they port to MAC OS.

      Projects like Mono and Wine allow Linux users to install Native Windows Applications, without having to port them over first.  It provides a virtual Windows environment, without having to install Windows.  This means that Microsoft could sell their products to Linux users, without having to open the source.  Plus, people who may be considering the switch wouldn't have to drop all Microsoft products (only Windows).  How is this a benefit to Microsoft?  Well, let's see....  Microsoft can lose $200.00 for Windows, plus another $150.00 for Works or Word, plus $59.00 for Money.  Or, by allowing projects like WINE and MONO to seamlessly integrate .NET, they'll only lose the $200.00 for Windows.  So, that's $459.00 vs $200.00...

    The second benefit is almost as beneficial.  By encouraging developers to create applications for the .NET Framework, Microsoft is opening up the potential for more people to use Windows (because they will have some better applications that work with it), and encouraging developers to eventually purchase their programming suites (Visual Studio) and SQL Servers.  Right now, if an industry wants to switch to Linux, they're developing their applications to work with Oracle or MySQL.  Being able to run SQL Server through WINE or MONO, will encourage those industries to develop for SQL Server (and consequently purchase it).  Eventually, they'll want more abilities in their .NET Development than the open-source suites (like Eclipse) can provide.  So, they'll start looking at the Visual Studio lines.  And, being able to run VS on Linux (through WINE or MONO) will be a plus.

     This also goes back to the loss of revenue from my earlier benefit.  If the industry goes to Linux, then Microsoft loses the Windows sales, plus the SQL sales.  However, if they're able to develop for SQL, then those sales won't disappear.

     The third reason is because more people will look for the vulnerabilities and bugs.  Now, I'm not going for the "Linux (or Open Source) is more secure....." tag here.  But, look at it like this.  If you develop a program on .NET, and a bug in the framework makes it mess up, what do you do?  If the framework was open, you could say "Ahhh.  It's not my coding, it's the framework."  And you could submit a report to Microsoft with 1) The issue, 2) the point in the framework that it lies and 3) a potential fix (that you'll have tested thoroughly before submitting).

    Plus the WINE and MONO developers will go through the framework with a fine-toothed comb.  They'll fix any bugs and vulnerabilities that they spot (you would hope).  And hopefully, since they're collaborating WITH Microsoft on this, they'll pass the fixes on up the chain.  If so (and if Microsoft will be willing to accept the fixes and use them), it will make a stronger, more secure, and less buggy framework for EVERYONE to use.

    So, let me know how you feel about this.  If there are other reasons why Microsoft should open the source up (completely--not in the current state), or if you have reasons why they shouldn't, please comment.  And if you're a Microsoft employee, please give your opinion about this as well.

Have a great day everyone.

Patrick.

Hi everyone,

    As the title and the previous post tell you, RC 1 is out and about now.  I've been using it for about a week now, and have developed a few impressions.  So, here we go...

    The installation is quick.  For my computer (Athalon XP 1800+ with 1GB of RAM), it took just about 45 minutes.  That may sound like a long time.  But, that was from when I entered the key through the Performance testing (to see what software will work on my computer) to the user screen.  Compared to some of the earlier builds, that's a speed race. 

     Booting up RC1 is snappy.  Even on my machine, it's quick.  In fact, it's quicker then XP.  You see a blank screen with the Windows Progress bar near the bottom.  Then, it goes to the Windows Logo (the globe with a windows icon in it).  Finally it comes up to the login screen (which is set on the Aurora background).  After logging in, the desktop loads fairly quickly.

     I just tested Vista with Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 Beta 2 running (with a Linspire Linux window that takes up 196MB of RAM) and my used RAM' was only about 44% total.  This is along with my usual complement of programs (Antivirus/firewall, Windows Live Messenger, SpamBayes server, and a few other programs) running.  Also Internet Explorer 7 was open with three tabs (one being the Virtual Server Administration Website) and a couple of conversations open.

     If you're planning on running games on Vista, there are a few things to be aware of.  If the games require OpenGL graphics, you'll have to either install your video card manufacturer's software/drivers, or find the OpenGL drivers for your card.  Vista doesn't include them natively, and they're not downloadable through Microsoft. 

     Also, some hardware (older hardware definitely and some newer hardware) doesn't work with Vista correctly.  For example, I have a Logitech Communicate STX webcam/mic that I started using.  Vista installed the drivers for the mic during the setup phase.  However the webcam drivers aren't installed (and Logitech isn't even making a slight effort to get drivers available).

     For the most part, programs that I was using on XP work on this build of Vista.  Office Standard 2003 Trial version doesn't work properly.  However Office 2003 Professional does.  Older .NET framework programs won't work out of the box-- you'll have to install the Framework and Service Packs for them first.  Microsoft Money 2006 works. 

     If you have a program that you want to know about, let me know.  If it's free, or there's a trial version of it, I'll be more then happy to try it out for you.  If there's no trial version (or it's not free), I'll find out if other people have been using it, and how they're doing with it.  And, as I play with Vista more, I'll post more impressions.

Have a great weekend everyone,

Patrick.

Hi everyone,

     Well, I'm still into the shortwave radio thing.  For me, still listening actively (or as actively as I can given my schedule) for this long is rare.  I don't try for reception reports as much as I did in the beginning (partially because some of the radio broadcasts are in German, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Chinese just to mention a few languages and I only speak English and a little Spanish and even less German).  But, I do enjoy listening to the stations.  Especially if they're broadcasting in English.

    I've heard stations from the Netherlands (which had a really good Jazz music program during the Summer), China, Japan, Germany, Cuba, Taiwan, and of course the United States and Canada (along with other countries).  I've gotten QSL cards from Taiwan, Netherlands, Canada, the US, Croatia, and Equador to name a few (as soon as I get a scanner that works with Windows Vista, I'll scan them in).  And, I've even done some "AM DX'ing".  I've heard stations from as far away as San Antonio, TX and Rochester, NY.  In fact, I even heard a station from Denver CO last week.  I sent them an Instant Message via their website link, and got to hear them read it both over my ancient radio and online.  The impressive thing about that is, one frequency over (they are on 850 AM and the other station was on 860 AM) was a local station.  So, just hearing them at all is amazing. 

     The AM stations typically will send you a letter of confirmation, where the Shortwave stations actually send a postcard style QSL card.  Although, the San Antonio station sent me a bumper sticker as well.  Either way, it's fun to get something from them.  And, it's fun to try and find the stations on the air. 

      Plus, it's a good way to find out what the rest of the World thinks about our daily lives.  You hear people saying everyone's either "Pro-American" or "Anti-American" and that the rest of the world doesn't agree with us or see us the same way as we do.  This is a good way to find out the truth.  You're hearing the same news that the rest of the world is hearing-- the same sentiments, and the same versions of the stories.  In some cases, you find out that the American news broadcasters are 'sanitizing' it, but in most cases, it's very similar.

     Well, I'm off to find another station to listen to.  Who knows, it could be one that you are broadcasting from, or from your country.  If you haven't tried shortwave, I highly recommend it.  All you need is a shortwave radio (which can be found in prices ranging from $19.95 at RadioShack to $2,000+ for the high end receivers).  Although as you get further on in the hobby, you'll spend money on higher-end receivers, computer controllers, and antennas.  So far, I've spent a whopping $10.00 on the ancient radio that I'm using.  I'll be spending another $30.00 or so on new tubes for it, since the ones that are inside of it are the originals (and some are burned out).

Have a great Labor Day everyone, and a great week.

Patrick.

Hi everyone,

As the title says, I'm definitely a techno-geek.  While everyone else that I know around here is concentrating on "The Cardinals" or "The Cubs" (or worse yet, the Hawkeyes), I'm busy messing with an old Philco Radio.  If I'm not on the computer, I'm tuning in stations from places like Taiwan, Cuba, China, the Netherlands, or Germany (just to name a few).

The radio is a Philco Model 42-322.  As the model number implies, the radio was manufactured in 1942 (and I think it has the original tubes in it).  Half of the tubes are burned out (or are in the process of it), so the radio doesn't work as well as it should.  But, it works.  Cosmetically, the only problems are the dial glass is broken and the label that shows the frequencies (and the World Cities that it's supposed to pick up) is tearing up and falling off of the glass.

I've looked into buying a newer 'shortwave' radio.  But, the cheapest one that I can afford (that is any good at least) is $99.00.  So, I'll just wait and play with this one for a while.  For those who don't know what "Shortwave" is, it's the radio frequencies that lie between the AM radio stations on your radio, and the CB radio Frequencies (in the US at least).  Mainly from about 3Mhz to 30Mhz (which includes the 26.965 to 27.405 Mhz range of the US CB Radio spectrum).

As I'm able to scan in QSL cards from the various locations that I hear, I'll post them in my photos section.  ("QSL" is an amateur radio term for Confirmation of a Reception Report).  I'll have a couple up already tonight.  One from Ecquador, and one from Croatian Radio.

Have a great weekend everyone,

Patrick.

http://spaces.msn.com/members/zacks/Blog/cns!1p3CFnnAq7IST2aqNJ8pFw_w!1061.entry

This is a beta version of a document on how to keep your computer running at it's best.  As Zack warns everyone, so will I. 

You are doing these items at your own risk.  Defragmenting, Disk Checking (ScanDisk), and Disk Cleanup are safe, and recommended by everyone.  But, dealing with Services, and registry entries, along with disabling System Restore or Automatic Updates is something you are doing at your own risk.  This is NOT to say you shouldn't do these things, just to make sure you're aware that if you disable the wrong item, you will cause Windows to become unstable (and possibly crash).

The most important thing I can say is triple check whatever step you are doing.   Make sure you're doing exactly what is recommended, and on the exact service/registry entry or component that it is meant for (some of the services look the same, but are different).  Also, when you are dealing with the Services, move the column width's apart enough that you can read the entire name. 

Patrick.

You may not think that learning the benefits of time organization or management would fall into Health and Wellness, but it does.  If you don't have good time management, then things that are really important start to suffer.  Like your sleep habits, and your eating habits.  And, you start to feel stressed out, which has adverse effects on your health.

I'm learning this the hard way, although I would have thought I learned it a long time ago.  Right now, I work the one of the worst shifts you can imagine.  And, I'm juggling college classes plus beta testing on top of that.  Now, it would seem that working a 36 hour week one week, and a 48 hour week the other gives you a lot of free time.  Which it does.  But, until you get your schedule down, you spend a lot of that free time sleeping, or just doing nothing.  That's where I'm at right now.  Slowly, I'm getting things straightened out. 

The easy thing would be to give up the minor things.  Which I've thought about doing.  But, before I go to that extreme, I'm going to try and sit down and organize my time.  I'll spend less time doing the minor things, and more time doing the major things.  Not counting, that in about a month, a friend of mine is moving to my town.  So, that will be one more thing to juggle.

Now, why am I rambling on about this? Because I know there are a lot of college students, and high school students that are exploring "spaces" right now.  Most of the adults in here have figured out how to budget their time.  But, you're still in the influencial stages.  I remember in college (10 years ago) they said to study 3 hours for every hour that you're in class.  That sounds like a lot of time, but it really isn't.  Looking back, I probably spent 45 hours screwing around in the Lobby of the dorm, playing cards.  It was fun at the time, but I didn't gain anything (unless you count knowing how to play Spades from midnight to 5 am every night as a gain).  Where, I could have spent even 10 hours of that time studying, and I would have made leaps and bounds.

So, I'll keep everyone posted on how the time management is coming...  Hopefully, in a month or two, I'll have everything set up and scheduled.  And, then life will get easier and better.

Patrick.