Microsoft's New Products....

Don't get too excited about Windows 7, as it is mainly a renaming of Vista. Microsoft has a marketing problem with Vista, so they are moving as fast as possible to release anything to replace the failing Vista image. Microsoft has simply tweaked Vista and is calling it Windows 7.

We all know that Vista is not Microsoft's cash cow, but I'm not sure their new line of Softwear is the answer. Just what every Windows user needs.... a t-shirt with Bill Gates mugshot. Yes it's real, but no pricing or way to order. They say this is taps nostalgia.... maybe kinda like Cracker Jack, a prize in every boxed version of Vista.

A billion people can't be wrong. Would you believe... a billion without any other option?

.

Time to bailout America....

The United States of America is the greatest nation in the World, however the Republican ideology that has been leading this nation for the last eight years is more concerned with "Big Business" making money than the good of the people. Remember, it is the people that makes a nation, without people you only have land mass. The Democratic philosophy is more in tune to the common people, therefore spreading the wealth of this great nation to all the people, not to just a few wealthy individuals. The cause of the present economic situation is just a repeat of the Great Depression. The rich getting richer, while the struggling poor have less and less. I dare say that probably most that are reading this are not classed as struggling poor, but ask... Am I better off financially today than I was eight years ago? Is this nation economically as sound as it was eight years ago?

If we continue to follow this Republican ideology that has destroyed our economy, we will have an economic nightmare much more devastating to this nation than the Great Depression ever was. It is time to get our heads on straight, go behind the voting booth curtains and pull the lever for Obama & Biden, the economic change our nation needs.
.

Got Chrome....

Seems the hot buzz this week is Google's new browser, Chrome. The Linux version has not been released yet, so I fired up a Windows XP SP3 box and surfed over and grabbed a copy of Chrome. Well not exactly, all I was able to download was a ChromeSetup.exe file, however that file ultimately downloaded and installed chrome in one quick process. The install went like clock work and even offered to import my Firefox settings and bookmarks to Chrome.

I must say, it's fast... double click and bamm, it's open! Chrome runs circles around IE 7 and Firefox 3 on initial start up and loads pages in a flash. Ok, Chrome loads fast and displays pages with the speed of light, but speed is not everything or is it?

Chrome has a totally different look and feel. First thing I noticed was the menu bar, it's missing and no option to turn it on. Chrome does allow a few changes in the options dialog, but mostly basic and security options. No look and feel options are available, not yet anyway... this is a Beta so more options may come later. One thing about this browser, plain and simple, not many buttons to push.

Bottom line.... If you want a simple easy to use browser that's faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, then Google Chrome maybe just what you're looking for.

Ok, Ok, I know... but Chrome is fast.

Jerry Seinfeld ad hits YouTube...

Microsoft has just made one of the funniest comedians in the World look stupid. Oh well, maybe not... Jerry walked away with a cool 10 Million bucks and Bill walked away eating a corny dog and shaking his booty. Millions of viewers will walk away shaking their heads.... wondering... what's this ad promoting?

"The future, delicious"

White Elephant Sale
A white elephant is a possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost exceeds its usefulness.

GOP gets DNC rain...

McCain and Obama may be running neck and neck, but Gustav has blind sided McCain. Gustav has knocked McCain's GOP Convention to it's knees. All of the television networks have moved their reporters to the Gulf Coast to report on Hurricane Gustav's devastation. What else could the GOP do... but put the convention on hold?

Focus on the Family asked people to pray for rain during the DNC, while Obama was giving his acceptance speech outdoors at Invesco Field at Mile High on Thursday, Aug. 28. Needless to say it did not rain on the DNC, it was a great success. Could it be that God answered those prayers in the form of Gustav? Maybe a prayer for rain at the DNC has caused the GOP to cancel all but the official business of the convention. Remember folks, be careful in what you pray for.

.

War on Malware....

If you are presently fighting an endless battle with virus infestations and annoying pop-ups and spyware, you are not alone, millions of Windows users are in the same sinking boat with you. There is no one anti-virus program or anti-spyware software, that does it all. It is a combination of programs that you need to use, to keep your system free of malware... and then there are no guarantees. There are plenty of free programs available for you to use, however do not depend solely on just one program to protect your Windows box.

Hmm, the real bottom line is don't trust your box to an OS that is venerable to virus and other malware attacks in the first place. Now I know that all operating systems could, at some point in time, fall victim to these attacks. However at the present time if you want to run your computer without all the hassle of virus and spyware, I would suggest you consider Ubuntu Linux as your operating system.

I have been running some flavor of Linux since year 2000 and have never been hit with any virus or spyware. The good news is that I'm not bothered with installing anti-virus and anti-spyware programs or waiting for updates to download and install to keep the software up to date.

It just amazes me that so many Windows users fight the never ending virus and malware battle, when simply switching to Linux will solve all their virus problems.

.

Happy Birthday Linux

The newsgroup post below can be considered the birth notice for Linux. Seventeen years later, what Linus Torvalds first conceived as "just a hobby" has evolved into the most powerful and stable, free operating system kernel of all time. Many thanks to Linus for his dedication to this project and to all the other contributors to the Linux kernel.


Linus Benedict Torvalds
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
From: torva...@klaava.Helsinki.FI (Linus Benedict Torvalds)
Date: 25 Aug 91 20:57:08 GMT
Local: Sun, Aug 25 1991 3:57 pm
Subject: What would you like to see most in minix?

Hello everybody out there using minix -

I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and
professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. This has been brewing
since april, and is starting to get ready. I'd like any feedback on
things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat
(same physical layout of the file-system (due to practical reasons)
among other things).

I've currently ported bash(1.08) and gcc(1.40), and things seem to work.
This implies that I'll get something practical within a few months, and
I'd like to know what features most people would want. Any suggestions
are welcome, but I won't promise I'll implement them :-)

Linus (torva...@kruuna.helsinki.fi)

PS. Yes - it's free of any minix code, and it has a multi-threaded fs.
It is NOT protable (uses 386 task switching etc), and it probably never
will support anything other than AT-harddisks, as that's all I have :-(.

Which Presidential candidate was ranked 894 out of 899 students in college?
Answer: John McCain

Can we do better?
Answer: Yes we can...

Jerry Seinfeld a great comedian, but...


It's been reported that Microsoft will launch an ad with Jerry Seinfeld in the starring role along with Bill Gates to counter the "Mac vs. PC" ads. And get this, will use the slogan “Windows Not Walls”.

Hmm... spending $300 million on an ad to convince people that Microsoft is not building walls around the Vista platform, when it is a well known fact that Microsoft's goal is to isolate itself to all open standards. And they think Jerry Seinfeld can do that.... Oh well, it's got me laughing, and I have not even seen the ad.

No turning back.....

The box said, System Requirements: Windows XP or better. So I installed Linux!

Linux is without doubt the most powerful and secure operating system, however the least used. Why? Several things factor into the equation.

There is a misconception that Linux is hard to use and that you need to be a geek to run it. That's just not true! The truth is that Linux is just as easy, if not easier to use than Windows or Mac. Granted it's not the same, but if Linux was the same as Windows or Mac.... why switch? There is a learning curve, however I can assure you that it will be well worth your time and effort.

Next is the misconception that because Linux is free, it's inferior software. That's also not true. In fact because Linux is free open source software it is developed by thousands world wide, not just a few paid developers at a single company. With open source software the only goal is to make good software, while on the other hand closed source software has the profit factor figured in and in most cases profit is their only goal.

I hear it all the time... I would like to run Linux but I can't run my Windows programs. Anyone thinking about moving to Linux just needs to get Windows out of their mindset. Linux has plenty of free open source programs that will do every task that your Windows programs will do and in most cases do them better.

Then you have the FUD factor: Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. FUD is just a human nature thing, we all have it. As humans we are programed to want to stay with things we are familiar with. I know people that have driven either Fords or Chevys all their lives. Why? It was their first car and because of the FUD factor they refused to try a different brand. Same with computer operating systems.... start with Windows or Mac and the FUD factor just keeps them going back to what they started with.

Maybe it's time to get off that Windows merry-go-round and jump aboard the Linux train. Full steam ahead with Ubuntu Linux!

The winner is....

Listen up home High-Definition movie fans. The war between Blu-ray and HD DVD is all but over with Blu-ray the victor. How can this happen? Technically, HD DVD offers far more features at a much lower cost to the consumer. As with many things in the world today, it's not always what or who is the best that comes out the winner.

Oh well, there is one thing I know for sure. I didn't need a HDTV to figure out that the LSU Tigers are the 2007 National Champions.

Geaux Tigers!

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

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.