Digital Vision
Tomorrow we will start a new year... 2008. What can we expect in 2008, digitally speaking? Oh I'm not going to go there, seems there are plenty of predictions for 2008 already published. Let's look way into the future, you know 2010.
I must conclude that 2007 was a great year for Linux, and is considered by some as Linux best year so far. Also in looking back on 2007, Windows Vista was released and without much willingness to accept it's new features, Vista is Microsoft's biggest flop since Microsoft Bob was released in March 1995.
OK back to year 2010, Microsoft currently plans to ship the next client version of Windows code named "Windows 7" in 2010. So let's take a look and see what's in the works. Microsoft is kinda tight lipped when it comes to "Windows 7", guess they're afraid Tux might get wind of this stuff. A new version of Windows Explorer is expected, most likely with a Ribbon user interface. To interact with this new Ribbon interface, you can expect touch screen features. As we dig a little deeper we can expect to find a self-contained kernel without a graphical user interface, with only a full-screen CLI and the Windows Touch Technology riding on top of the kernel.
Happy New Year
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Office 2007 SP1 FAILED
Microsoft has shipped Office 2007 Service Pack 1 as a automatic update. That's great... except installation FAILED on my wife's machine. Looks like Microsoft should have beta tested the installation process before releasing it early. Oh well, from the things I've been reading this will not affect too many machines, because the Office 2007 install base is so low. Not really sure what the problem was, but after a manual install, all is well. Now this is not the first Vista updates that have failed. A .NET update failed every day for a full month without alerting the user of a problem. One would expect all of Vista and Office updates to go without a hitch, considering the price one pays.
Now I'm not bragging... Oh well maybe a little. My Ubuntu updates have never failed, not to say they won't, but so far so good!
Microsoft has shipped Office 2007 Service Pack 1 as a automatic update. That's great... except installation FAILED on my wife's machine. Looks like Microsoft should have beta tested the installation process before releasing it early. Oh well, from the things I've been reading this will not affect too many machines, because the Office 2007 install base is so low. Not really sure what the problem was, but after a manual install, all is well. Now this is not the first Vista updates that have failed. A .NET update failed every day for a full month without alerting the user of a problem. One would expect all of Vista and Office updates to go without a hitch, considering the price one pays.
Now I'm not bragging... Oh well maybe a little. My Ubuntu updates have never failed, not to say they won't, but so far so good!
Friday, November 09, 2007
gPC... will Wal-Mart see green?
I just recently noticed that Wal-Mart is to start selling a PC for $199. After a little Googling, it turns out that this PC is called a gPC running the gOS operating system. For starter let's look under the hood at the hardware specs: 1.5GHz, VIA C7-D Processor, 512MB DDR2 533MHz, SDRAM, 80GB Hard Disk Drive, DVD-ROM/D-RW Optical Drive, VIA UniChrome Pro IGP Graphics, Realtek 6-Channel Audio, (1) 10/100 Ethernet Port, (1) DB 15-Pin VGA Port, (6) USB 2.0 Ports, (1) RJ-11 Port, (1) Headphone/Line-Out Port, (2) Microphone/Line-In Ports, (1) Serial Port, (1) Parallel Port, (1) Keyboard, (1) Mouse, (1) Set of Amplified Stereo Speakers. One thing to note here is the VIA processor, and not the popular Intel or AMD processors that most computers come with. VIA is a leading chip-set manufacture for motherboards, and when you get right down to the nitty-gritty, it's the chip-set that controls how and what the computer does. The processor just does the work, it's the work horse so to speak. All-in-all the hardware specs are not too bad for a computer that cost less than 200 bucks.
The big deviation from the standard PC is the OS, so let's have a look. What in the world is gOS? OK here we go, gOS is based on Ubuntu 7.10 Linux system with an Enlightenment E17 windows manager interface. gOS uses Google applications to do most of your work. A dock bar runs across the bottom of the desktop with Google tools and services. With a single click from the desktop.... Mail, Calendar, News, Maps, YouTube, Blogger and Google Docs are at your service. Clicking the green leaf icon in the left corner of the dock bar will bring up the installed programs much like the start button in Windows. You will find all the software you need to browse the web, email, instant message, play movies, music, and edit your photos, documents, spreadsheets, presentations and databases. Also you will find a handy Google search box embedded in the top right corner of the desktop.
I decided to give gOS a spin around the block, and No... I didn't run down to Wally World and grab one of those PCs targeted at the infamous redneck Wal-Mart shopper. I simply spent about 35 minutes downloading a 694 MB iso file and burning it to CD, thus creating a LiveCD boot-able operating system. I booted that sucker up on my PC and was greeted with a nice refreshing green desktop and a dock bar with over-sized icons for the online Google services. This is not for a geek or power computer user, however for the first time user or someone just wanting to use Web services this is a nice clean OS. I can see many advantages to this system as opposed to a Windows system. With this system, no virus scans and updating anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Because it's a Linux box, no more time wasted defraging your file system.
There area few negative points with this system. Where's the monitor? Yep, it's extra. Next, while this is a nice Internet surfing machine you will need a broadband Internet connection using Ethernet. A RJ-11 Port is listed but dial up with Linux is not something a new or inexperienced user needs to tackle. Al-in-all it's a nice little box, but I have my doubts as to it's success.
I just recently noticed that Wal-Mart is to start selling a PC for $199. After a little Googling, it turns out that this PC is called a gPC running the gOS operating system. For starter let's look under the hood at the hardware specs: 1.5GHz, VIA C7-D Processor, 512MB DDR2 533MHz, SDRAM, 80GB Hard Disk Drive, DVD-ROM/D-RW Optical Drive, VIA UniChrome Pro IGP Graphics, Realtek 6-Channel Audio, (1) 10/100 Ethernet Port, (1) DB 15-Pin VGA Port, (6) USB 2.0 Ports, (1) RJ-11 Port, (1) Headphone/Line-Out Port, (2) Microphone/Line-In Ports, (1) Serial Port, (1) Parallel Port, (1) Keyboard, (1) Mouse, (1) Set of Amplified Stereo Speakers. One thing to note here is the VIA processor, and not the popular Intel or AMD processors that most computers come with. VIA is a leading chip-set manufacture for motherboards, and when you get right down to the nitty-gritty, it's the chip-set that controls how and what the computer does. The processor just does the work, it's the work horse so to speak. All-in-all the hardware specs are not too bad for a computer that cost less than 200 bucks.
The big deviation from the standard PC is the OS, so let's have a look. What in the world is gOS? OK here we go, gOS is based on Ubuntu 7.10 Linux system with an Enlightenment E17 windows manager interface. gOS uses Google applications to do most of your work. A dock bar runs across the bottom of the desktop with Google tools and services. With a single click from the desktop.... Mail, Calendar, News, Maps, YouTube, Blogger and Google Docs are at your service. Clicking the green leaf icon in the left corner of the dock bar will bring up the installed programs much like the start button in Windows. You will find all the software you need to browse the web, email, instant message, play movies, music, and edit your photos, documents, spreadsheets, presentations and databases. Also you will find a handy Google search box embedded in the top right corner of the desktop.
I decided to give gOS a spin around the block, and No... I didn't run down to Wally World and grab one of those PCs targeted at the infamous redneck Wal-Mart shopper. I simply spent about 35 minutes downloading a 694 MB iso file and burning it to CD, thus creating a LiveCD boot-able operating system. I booted that sucker up on my PC and was greeted with a nice refreshing green desktop and a dock bar with over-sized icons for the online Google services. This is not for a geek or power computer user, however for the first time user or someone just wanting to use Web services this is a nice clean OS. I can see many advantages to this system as opposed to a Windows system. With this system, no virus scans and updating anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Because it's a Linux box, no more time wasted defraging your file system.
There area few negative points with this system. Where's the monitor? Yep, it's extra. Next, while this is a nice Internet surfing machine you will need a broadband Internet connection using Ethernet. A RJ-11 Port is listed but dial up with Linux is not something a new or inexperienced user needs to tackle. Al-in-all it's a nice little box, but I have my doubts as to it's success.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Cyber Innovation Center... the dollar spectrum.
In the Sunday, October 21, 2007 edition of the Shreveport Times, John Andrew Prime wrote an article titled "Getting the answers about the Cyber Center". It's a quite lengthy article, however I have re-read it several times in hopes of completely understanding the the Cyber Innovation Center. An overview of what CIC is about is clear, however sad to say, the specifics of CIC are still only clear as Louisiana gumbo mud. I'm the type that will pursue a subject to the very end to get a satisfactory answer, so I turned to the Web. The Cyber Innovation Center website is a nice professional site, however still not very much specific detailed information on the inner workings of CIC or how they plan to spend 100 million dollars of taxpayers money. The one thing that is very clear; CIC is advocating sponsorship and membership ranging from an annual fee of $250,000 to as low as $1,000 for a public membership. So, how do individuals get involved? Looks like if you don't have $1,000 per year to spend your pretty much left out in the cold. Well maybe not completely, you can sign up for CIC updates at no cost.
It's going to be interesting to see how the private sector (Cyber Innovation Center) will mesh with the newly formed Cyber Command of the 8th Air Force and Barksdale Air Force base. Most politicians are expecting the best and think that the Cyber Innovation Center will have a positive effect on the Louisiana economy. My hope is that they are correct in their thinking. Needless to say, I'm not that optimistic.
In the Sunday, October 21, 2007 edition of the Shreveport Times, John Andrew Prime wrote an article titled "Getting the answers about the Cyber Center". It's a quite lengthy article, however I have re-read it several times in hopes of completely understanding the the Cyber Innovation Center. An overview of what CIC is about is clear, however sad to say, the specifics of CIC are still only clear as Louisiana gumbo mud. I'm the type that will pursue a subject to the very end to get a satisfactory answer, so I turned to the Web. The Cyber Innovation Center website is a nice professional site, however still not very much specific detailed information on the inner workings of CIC or how they plan to spend 100 million dollars of taxpayers money. The one thing that is very clear; CIC is advocating sponsorship and membership ranging from an annual fee of $250,000 to as low as $1,000 for a public membership. So, how do individuals get involved? Looks like if you don't have $1,000 per year to spend your pretty much left out in the cold. Well maybe not completely, you can sign up for CIC updates at no cost.
It's going to be interesting to see how the private sector (Cyber Innovation Center) will mesh with the newly formed Cyber Command of the 8th Air Force and Barksdale Air Force base. Most politicians are expecting the best and think that the Cyber Innovation Center will have a positive effect on the Louisiana economy. My hope is that they are correct in their thinking. Needless to say, I'm not that optimistic.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Pirates to surf with IE 7
On October 4, 2007 Microsoft announced that Internet Explorer 7 installation will no longer require Windows Genuine Advantage validation and will be available to all Windows XP users. Now it did not say so but I assume "all" to mean pirated versions also.
Microsoft seems to be having problems with it's monopolistic strategy. Microsoft wants 100% of everything without putting forth any effort. Let's face it, Vista has fallen flat on it's face, and IE 7 has not done much better. Users don't want Vista and IE 7.... now Microsoft thinks it's because of pirated versions of XP. Wake up Microsoft, your software stinks! Could it be that users just want an OS and browser that works without all the bloat? Maybe it's why thousands have switched to Linux and Firefox. Runs great and less filling!
On October 4, 2007 Microsoft announced that Internet Explorer 7 installation will no longer require Windows Genuine Advantage validation and will be available to all Windows XP users. Now it did not say so but I assume "all" to mean pirated versions also.
Microsoft seems to be having problems with it's monopolistic strategy. Microsoft wants 100% of everything without putting forth any effort. Let's face it, Vista has fallen flat on it's face, and IE 7 has not done much better. Users don't want Vista and IE 7.... now Microsoft thinks it's because of pirated versions of XP. Wake up Microsoft, your software stinks! Could it be that users just want an OS and browser that works without all the bloat? Maybe it's why thousands have switched to Linux and Firefox. Runs great and less filling!
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Vista downgrade...
Seems the only people that have had a Vista WOW experience are Microsoft's Vista team. Echos are heard all across Microsoft's Redmond campus, "WOW... I can't believe people want to downgrade from Vista to XP". Yep! That's right, many users that have purchased new PCs with Vista are downgrading to XP, and in some cases to Linux. You may be wondering, what's going on?
Microsoft is now letting PC makers offer a downgrade option to consumers who buy Vista Business or Ultimate machines that want to switch to Windows XP. Fujitsu, Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell have all taken steps, one way or another, to allow consumers to downgrade from Vista to XP. I want to make it clear that the downgrade option is for businesses only. Consumers who purchased new PCs with Vista Home Premium do not have the downgrade option.
I'm going to read between the lines and give you my views. The mass majority of consumers are not ready for Vista because of it's demanding hardware requirements and the excessive cost of the Vista software. Due to this, Vista sales have been extremely low. Microsoft has seen it's Vista ship steadily sinking and are attempting to patch a hole in Vista's sinking ship. Not only does Microsoft patch their software, they are attempting to patch sales with this downgrade option. Microsoft is in business to make software and money. It is my opinion that Microsoft has put more emphasis on making money than on making good software. Vista is not necessarily bad software, it's just that most businesses want their OS to be lean and mean with out all of Vista's bloat and visual effects. On the home front Vista should serve most users well if they purchase a new PC with lots of RAM and a hefty video card.
One thing I've noticed is that Vista has also pushed some user over to Linux. Could it be fear, uncertainty, and doubt that has caused these Windows users to move to Linux? Surely the FUD factor has not turned its ugly hand on Microsoft. Oh well, what goes around comes around.
Seems the only people that have had a Vista WOW experience are Microsoft's Vista team. Echos are heard all across Microsoft's Redmond campus, "WOW... I can't believe people want to downgrade from Vista to XP". Yep! That's right, many users that have purchased new PCs with Vista are downgrading to XP, and in some cases to Linux. You may be wondering, what's going on?
Microsoft is now letting PC makers offer a downgrade option to consumers who buy Vista Business or Ultimate machines that want to switch to Windows XP. Fujitsu, Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell have all taken steps, one way or another, to allow consumers to downgrade from Vista to XP. I want to make it clear that the downgrade option is for businesses only. Consumers who purchased new PCs with Vista Home Premium do not have the downgrade option.
I'm going to read between the lines and give you my views. The mass majority of consumers are not ready for Vista because of it's demanding hardware requirements and the excessive cost of the Vista software. Due to this, Vista sales have been extremely low. Microsoft has seen it's Vista ship steadily sinking and are attempting to patch a hole in Vista's sinking ship. Not only does Microsoft patch their software, they are attempting to patch sales with this downgrade option. Microsoft is in business to make software and money. It is my opinion that Microsoft has put more emphasis on making money than on making good software. Vista is not necessarily bad software, it's just that most businesses want their OS to be lean and mean with out all of Vista's bloat and visual effects. On the home front Vista should serve most users well if they purchase a new PC with lots of RAM and a hefty video card.
One thing I've noticed is that Vista has also pushed some user over to Linux. Could it be fear, uncertainty, and doubt that has caused these Windows users to move to Linux? Surely the FUD factor has not turned its ugly hand on Microsoft. Oh well, what goes around comes around.
Friday, September 07, 2007
What's UAC?
A lot has been written lately about how badly Vista stacks up to every ones expectations of being the best OS ever. I'm not here to ridicule or praise it, however where there's smoke.... there is usually fire. Vista has taken lots of flak over its new UAC feature. It has even been suggested by some to simply turn UAC off to stop the annoying permission pop-ups.
What is UAC you might be asking? UAC stands for User Account Control, which is a feature that is built into Vista to help keep your computer secure and prevent virus and spyware from installing.
Here's a look at how UAC works. In earlier versions of Windows users logged on with total administrative privileges, therefore being able to make any change to the system without being prompted for permission. Vista has two types of user accounts: standard user accounts and administrator accounts. Standard users have limited administrative privileges and user rights; they cannot install or uninstall applications, change system settings, or perform other administrative tasks. In Vista you should log on as a standard user with limited privileges. When making changes to the system or installing a program Vista's UAC will pop-up asking for permission to perform the task as an Administrator.
For those of you that think they must run as an Administrator; Vista runs in Administrator Approval Mode, therefore providing additional protection for administrators. Vista will run most programs with standard user permissions even if the user is an administrator. If a user wishes to run a program that requires administrator permissions or make system changes, they must give permission through a UAC prompt. This helps prevent malicious software from making system-wide changes without the administrator's knowledge. Let it be known, Administrator Approval Mode does not provide the same level of security or protection as a standard user account.
With UAC turned on, malicious software can not install on your computer unless you give it administrative privileges to do so. If you always run as a standard user with UAC turned on and you find spryware on your computer. Guess what? It's your fault... you granted it permission to install. Vista and User Account Control is not a cure-all for malicious software, however it is another layer of protection you should be using along with anti-virus and anti-spyware software.
The User Account Control concept is not new, it's just new to Vista. Unix and Linux have always used this method of logging on to their systems. Humm... looks like Vista has snitched one of Linux great security features. Oh well, maybe this is one of those 235 patents that Microsoft claims to exist in Linux and open source.
A lot has been written lately about how badly Vista stacks up to every ones expectations of being the best OS ever. I'm not here to ridicule or praise it, however where there's smoke.... there is usually fire. Vista has taken lots of flak over its new UAC feature. It has even been suggested by some to simply turn UAC off to stop the annoying permission pop-ups.
What is UAC you might be asking? UAC stands for User Account Control, which is a feature that is built into Vista to help keep your computer secure and prevent virus and spyware from installing.
Here's a look at how UAC works. In earlier versions of Windows users logged on with total administrative privileges, therefore being able to make any change to the system without being prompted for permission. Vista has two types of user accounts: standard user accounts and administrator accounts. Standard users have limited administrative privileges and user rights; they cannot install or uninstall applications, change system settings, or perform other administrative tasks. In Vista you should log on as a standard user with limited privileges. When making changes to the system or installing a program Vista's UAC will pop-up asking for permission to perform the task as an Administrator.
For those of you that think they must run as an Administrator; Vista runs in Administrator Approval Mode, therefore providing additional protection for administrators. Vista will run most programs with standard user permissions even if the user is an administrator. If a user wishes to run a program that requires administrator permissions or make system changes, they must give permission through a UAC prompt. This helps prevent malicious software from making system-wide changes without the administrator's knowledge. Let it be known, Administrator Approval Mode does not provide the same level of security or protection as a standard user account.
With UAC turned on, malicious software can not install on your computer unless you give it administrative privileges to do so. If you always run as a standard user with UAC turned on and you find spryware on your computer. Guess what? It's your fault... you granted it permission to install. Vista and User Account Control is not a cure-all for malicious software, however it is another layer of protection you should be using along with anti-virus and anti-spyware software.
The User Account Control concept is not new, it's just new to Vista. Unix and Linux have always used this method of logging on to their systems. Humm... looks like Vista has snitched one of Linux great security features. Oh well, maybe this is one of those 235 patents that Microsoft claims to exist in Linux and open source.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Clean Install
I have read a couple of articles that the upgrade version of Vista will not allow a clean install.
Just thinking.... my hard drive dies, I have no backup and installed the Vista upgrade version. No problem, just install Vista on a new hard drive. Oops... Vista upgrade will not clean install!
Day one: dig around to find my Windows XP disk and CD key. Install XP on the new drive and re-validate XP.
Day two: dig around to find a Service Pack 2 disk. Install SP2 on Windows XP and hope no more later updates are need to install Vista.
Day three: upgrade XP to Vista and tweak Vista to my personal settings and make sure all my drivers are working.
Three days later I now have Vista re-installed. This is a hypothetical case, I don't even have Vista installed, and if I keep thinking like this I may never install Vista.
I have read a couple of articles that the upgrade version of Vista will not allow a clean install.
Just thinking.... my hard drive dies, I have no backup and installed the Vista upgrade version. No problem, just install Vista on a new hard drive. Oops... Vista upgrade will not clean install!
Day one: dig around to find my Windows XP disk and CD key. Install XP on the new drive and re-validate XP.
Day two: dig around to find a Service Pack 2 disk. Install SP2 on Windows XP and hope no more later updates are need to install Vista.
Day three: upgrade XP to Vista and tweak Vista to my personal settings and make sure all my drivers are working.
Three days later I now have Vista re-installed. This is a hypothetical case, I don't even have Vista installed, and if I keep thinking like this I may never install Vista.
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