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.

The Vista I see!

Vista is to be Microsoft’s next generation operating system. The English word vista is a synonym for sight or view. Synonyms are different words with similar or identical meanings and are interchangeable. Now thanks to Wikipedia we have a clear understanding of what Microsoft has intended for Vista to be.

I have not personally installed or for that matter ever used Vista, however I have read lots of reviews, and viewed screenshots and videos via the Internet. And thanks to Bernie, the CBWUG members were presented with a live working version of Vista RC1.

First off Vista lives up to its name, lots of visual effects and eye candy. Thanks to Aero you have visual effects such as glass-like interface elements that you can see through. A live thumbnail is displayed when placing the mouse pointer over a taskbar item, showing the content of that window. Windows Flip and Flip 3D allows you to flip through open windows providing a live thumbnail of each window. A new feature called Instant Search helps you find and start almost anything on your computer. Just type in a word, a name, or a phrase, and Instant Search will start your program, hopefully the one you wanted.

Vista contains a number of new security features that are designed to make Vista-based computers more secure. User Account Control is one way to improve security of your computer by giving you the ability to decide if software is allowed to make changes to your computer. Users normally run in a limited user mode and are ask for permission to do administrative task in Vista.

Windows Sidebar is a pane on the side of the Windows Vista desktop that organizes gadgets and makes them easy to access. Gadgets are mini-applications that sit in the Windows sidebar. Gadgets can connect to the web and deliver weather information, news updates and other useful web information. Gadgets can also have any number of purposes not web related such as games, sticky notes, and a clock.

I must say Microsoft has done a great job of integrating a lot of visual effects and security into Vista. While this may be new to Vista and Windows users, those of us that have been sampling the other operating system have already been blessed with these visual effects and better security.

Vista is hardware hungry; to fully get all the visual effects that Vista has to offer, you will need a very powerful computer. If you think you have a computer that has the power to run Vista, simply go for an upgrade. Before you run to the store and grab Vista and dive into an install, I would suggest downloading and running Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor. After running Upgrade Advisor, you may be surprised to find you computer is not as powerful as you thought.

Your other options are buying a Windows Vista Capable PC or a Windows Vista Premium Ready PC. Which one do I want? Here’s the scoop! Computers with the Windows Vista Capable PC logo will deliver the core Windows Vista experiences such as security, and Instant Search but may not provide Aero features. PCs meeting the Windows Vista Premium Ready requirements can deliver the Windows Aero visual effects.

Your last and most likely the best option, just wait and purchase a new PC with Vista pre-installed, everything should work. If things don’t work, all is not lost; you can make friends with some guy in India.

Now comes the fun part, what version of Vista do I want? Here’s how it works, Microsoft has made one Ultimate version and disabled certain features in the Ultimate version to create the other versions. Here are your choices: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate. Home Basic is for low-end hardware or for users that have very limited needs. I would stay away from Home Basic; it’s cut to the bare bone necessities. Business is just what the name implies, has little to offer most home users and is lacking in multimedia features; I’ll bypass that version also. Looks like we are left with just two options, Home Premium and Ultimate. I think most users will find Home Premium will fill their needs with a modest price tag and most wanted features, however more green means the Ultimate computing experience, in Windows that is. The Complete PC Backup imaging tool and the BitLocker drive encryption feature are disabled in Home Premium. I guess Microsoft knows that most home users never backup or encrypt their data anyway. The Ultimate version is the only choice for serious Windows users.

Carolyn is a serious Windows user and I’m serious about getting X.org and the X Window System working on a Linux box. Well you guessed it, our next computer will have Vista Ultimate Edition!

Just Google it....

Google says no to Googling on MSN or Yahoo. Google is a trademark identifying the search technology and services of Google Technologies Inc. Google and Googling is not a generic term meaning to search for information on the Web. Sorry folks, you can't say "Log onto MSN search and Google it." This is kinda silly but all companies try to protect their trademarks. Microsoft has trademarked Windows, so even though Linux has a Windowing system, you must refer to it as X, X Window System, X Version 11, X Window System, Version 11, or X11. Because X Window System is a trademark of X Consortium, Inc. it's off limits to Microsoft. Now can I legally call my Linux computer running X Window System my Xbox? Oh well, it's mine and I'll call it whatever I want.

The Rocky Road Ahead

Are things really that bad at Microsoft? Humm..... let's take a look!

Bill Gates is stepping down as Microsoft's chief software architect and plans to work at his charity foundation. Microsoft also has announced some executive shuffling across various product groups.

In recent days there has been criticism of its security software (OneCare Live) and anti-piracy program (Windows Genuine Advantage). It's clear Microsoft has dropped the ball in these areas.

On June 29th Microsoft announced it is laying off 214 U.S. salespeople. Oh well, what do they need salespeople for anyway? If you buy a new OEM computer you get Microsoft Windows whether you want it or not! This is commonly known in some circles as the Microsoft Tax.

Microsoft is also have problems shipping it's products in a timely fashion. Windows Vista has been delayed until early 2007. Nobody know when it will ship but rumors has that it's still buggy and not ready for the consumer. Office 2007 is not doing any better. Office 2007 was also delayed to early 2007, but Microsoft representatives have recently admitted that Office is behind schedule entirely. Now, let's put the icing on the cake. The new WinFS file system that was part of Windows Vista has been completely removed from Vista. It was reported that it would ship later as a standalone software component to Vista. Oops, now Microsoft no longer plans to ship WinFS as a standalone software component. Instead, portions of the underlying technology will be included with the next release of SQL Server. Looks like the WinFS file system is going belly up.

What does all this spell? Well spelling was not my best subject in school. If I did spell it out some would call me a Linux advocate.

You can always tell a Linux user.... you just can't tell them much.

Security without encryption....

Think your credit card transactions are secure... think again! MasterCard and Visa have developed what is known as the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard. Presently your data is encrypted when you swipe your card. Because this encryption requirement is causing so much trouble for merchants, MasterCard and Visa have decided to write a new set of rules that will replace encryption with other types of security technology. Relaxing encryption requirements is not good. It basically means that if a hacker hacks the system, they get your data. Encryption is the ultimate measure of security. So why is MasterCard and Visa writing a new set of security rules without making encryption a strong requirement? Save money for the merchants! In doing so they are putting your personal data at risk. What to hell... save Wal-Mart billions of dollars, you the consumer only stand to loose your life savings.

Ice cream anyone?

MooBella, a nine-employee company in Taunton, Massachusetts has developed a machine no larger than a Coke vending machine that instantly makes a scoop of ice cream from fresh ingredients stored within.

On the machine's front is a computer screen running on a Linux operating system. It displays menus of possible flavors and allows the user to create any combination, such as low-fat coffee ice cream with Oreo cookies. If the machine runs out of a flavor, it stops putting it on the menu and sends a message via a wireless Internet connection to MooBella asking for a refill.

Now I know what you're thinking, Windows can do the same thing. If a Windows machine runs out of a flavor, what would you get? You guessed it, a "Blue Screen of Death."

Good news... bad news!

Google has confirmed it is working on a desktop Linux project called Goobuntu, but declined to supply further details, including what the project is for. Now we all know this has nothing to do with the fact that Google missed earnings expectations on Tuesday for the first time since it went public in August 2004. Its shares went down almost 20 per cent at one point in after-hours trading and slicing billions of dollars off its market capital.

Here's the question Google investors are asking: What's my stock going to do? Here's the question Linux enthusiasts are asking: Will Google make Linux as popular as the Google search engine?

Humm... If I had the answer to those questions, I wouldn't be typing this crazy blog. Only time will tell!

RTFM

Thunderbird 1.5 was released on Thursday, January 12. It's got some great new features that include automatic updates, anti-phishing protection, inline spellchecking, saved search folders, podcasting, RSS improvements, and the ability to delete attachments from messages. Now those new features would be great if I could get it to load.

After quickly downloading the 6.0 MB file and double clicking it; it extracted and the installer started to work and I was soon greeted with the message, "Installation successful." Now it's time to take a look at all those new features. Wrong! It just would not load. I tried every known trick to get it to load to no avail. I reinstalled my old version and it loaded like a champ. OK, it's got to be a bad download, corrupt file you know. No such luck, after a new download and install, same thing won't load.

OK it's now 2:00 a.m. It's now time to RTFM. I went to the Thunderbird site and scanned the page for clues as to what might be the problem. Buried in the Release Notes page and under known issues there was the one sentence I need to read. "Prior to installing Thunderbird 1.5, please ensure that the directory you've chosen to install into is clean and doesn't contain any previous Thunderbird installations." How dumb can I be? After a complete un-install and install of Thunderbird 1.5 in a clean directory, that entire new list of features loaded instantly!

Surface-conduction Electron-emitter Display anyone!

Will your next flat-panel HDTV have surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED)? This type of display is currently under development by Canon and Toshiba. It works similar to a CRT but consumes about 50% less power and has a thin flat-panel like a LCD, which is only an inch or two thick. It looks like Toshiba intends to move their 40-inch plus displays to SED technology. The announcement came at the Consumer Electronics Show this week. Recent articles have said the SED units will be priced around Plasma and LCD if not higher. I think I’ll stick with the good ole CRT for now.

Take this shovelware and shove it!

All the major PC manufactures are loading their systems with limited-time or limited-feature versions of standard commercial applications. Microsoft Office 2003 is one of their favorite applications to include, but will require a $400 to $500 registration fee to continue working past the 60 day trial period. Let's face it folks, this is no more than shovelware dumped on the hard drive to make it look like a great value. Many consumers purchase these systems thinking they are getting a fully licensed copy of Microsoft Office, when in fact they are only getting a bloated system.

How do you protect yourself? Read the fine print and don't take the word of a sales clerk. If this is the software you want, simply register, and pay the fee and your set. However don't feel you have to buy this pre-installed software. If you choose not to purchase the software use the Control Panel's Add or Remove Programs applet to un-install and remove the bloat.

Now is the perfect time to give Open Source software a try. OpenOffice.org 2.0 is a free, full-featured office suite that can open and save in Microsoft formats or AbiWord 2.4.1, an award winning, small, fast, full-featured and cross platform word processor similar to Microsoft Word.

Bob's Blog "Digital Madness"

Just want to wish everyone a prosperous and Happy New Year.

Windows users you may not have such a Happy New Year if the new "Windows WMF Metafile Vulnerability" bites their computer. This vulnerability involves the way Windows handles image files (Microsoft Picture and Fax Viewer). A malicious Windows Metafile (.WMF) image could allow attackers to take control of your computer. Now we have image files that contain a virus and trojans. All you have to do is surf to one of the infected sites and it will automatically infect your computer. Now that's nice of them, what could be easier? OK, I know it’s AOL. Seriously, you can go to Ilfak Guilfanov's blog to learn more and download a temporary hot-fix for this critical flaw.

NOTE: This is not a Microsoft hot-fix, but is safe to use and can be removed when Microsoft gets around to patching this critical flaw.

Now just in case anyone cares, my new years resolution is to be less dependent on Windows and use Linux more.

Happy New Year !

What time is it?

Humm... must have been a good boy last year. I got an atomic clock for Christmas. Yeah yeah, I know an atomic clock has an atomic oscillator inside, such as a cesium or rubidium oscillator. Ok it's a radio controlled clock, which receives a signal that comes from a place where an atomic clock is located. I did a little research and found that in the United States, the signals received by radio controlled clocks originate from NIST Radio Station WWVB, which is located near Fort Collins, Colorado. WWVB broadcasts on a frequency of 60 kHz. At 60 kHz, there isn’t enough room on the signal (bandwidth) to carry a voice or any type of audio information. Instead, all that is sent is a code, which consists of a series of binary digits, or bits, which have only two possible values (0 or 1). Now I understand, it's a radio controlled digital clock with atomic time precision. Well that's not what it says on the box. It says, "Wireless Weather Forecaster with Atomic Time".

Guess it doesn't matter what you call it. I'll always have the atomic time and date, indoor & outdoor temperature, relative humidity and the rise or fall of barometric pressure. This clock sets itself automatically, no more resetting for daylight saving time. Now my computer clock and my kitchen clock are both synchronized by the same NIST atomic clock.

I spy... you spy!

OK, the cat's out of the bag. King George... Oops. President Bush has announced that he has authorized wiretaps and email monitoring without a court order. It's now official, Big Brother is watching.

Now the good news is that I don't have anything to hide or at least I better not because Windows has all my activities stored on my hard drive in index.dat files. Index.dat files are files hidden on your computer that contain all of the Web sites that you have ever visited. Every URL and every Web page that you have visited are listed there. Not only that but all of the email that has been sent or received through Outlook or Outlook Express is also listed. The file names and locations depend on what version of Internet Explorer you use. Index.dat files can be very hard to find. The reason that these files are so invisible is that they are not just hidden; they have been designated as system files. System files and folders are treated differently in DOS and Windows and are effectively masked from searches. These files can be manually traced down and deleted but will be very time consuming. There are programs designed to find and delete your index.dat files but my advice don't do anything that would require deleting the index.dat files.

Now if you just have to hide your tracks, I would suggest ELE. ELE is a bootable Live CD Linux distribution with focus on privacy related software. Everything passes through Tor, where communications are bounced around a distributed network of servers, called onion routers, which will effectively hide your ip address. And because ELE runs totally in RAM memory, all your tracks are deleted at shutdown.

Now you know how to spy on a Windows user and how to keep someone from spying on you.

Automatic update and forget it!

Auto update and forget it, I don't think so. Many users simply turn on the auto update features in their anti-virus and anti-spyware programs and trust that to keep them up to date. While automatic updates work well and I do recommend that you have all security programs set to auto update, I also suggest you do manual updates regularly in addition to the auto updates.

Why? I just don't trust automatic updates, and here's the reason why. Many programs will go out and get one update, then think it's finished. When in fact there are more updates to be downloaded and installed. I have found this to be the case with Norton anti-virus and yes, even my trusted AVG anti-virus. I must say automatic updates for Windows works pretty good, however it only downloads and installs critical updates, leaving optional software and hardware updates to be downloaded manually. If you don't turn your computer on everyday, and that's the case with many laptops, several updates will be waiting to be installed and many times only one will be installed.

So, what to do? Turn on all automatic updates by all means, but also do manual updates once a week to check behind auto updates. Keep checking until you get a message to the effect that all updates are installed. This includes all security programs and Windows.

Now, Linux makes updating so easy with the apt package. At a shell prompt simply type apt-get dist-upgrade then hit [Enter]. This will update everything installed on your computer with one command. What could be easier?

Will your Apple taste any better?

Let me start off by saying that I don't use a Mac, never have, but there is always a first time. You might say that when it comes to computer operating systems, I have an open mind. Think maybe I can squeeze a Mac between Windows and Linux? I hope my wife doesn't read this!

Apple has announced that it will switch from the PowerPC processor to an Intel chip. I wonder how those loyal Mac users feel? I'm sure there are many different reactions, some feel betrayed, some are ready for a change, and then there are those that could care less as long as their Mac does the task at hand. The fact that a new Macintosh will actually boot Windows either by itself or dual boot is just amazing. Apple may have just coined a new computer term, Triple Boot. You may soon be able to triple boot between MacOS, Windows and Linux.

There is no reason to believe that the MacOS and apps won't be stable under Intel. Linux runs exceptionally well under Intel. If there is anything unstable, it is Windows, and its instabilities are not the fault of the hardware.

Well your Apple may not taste any better, but it's sure going to have a different flavor. I think all this change at Apple calls for a new name to replace Macintosh. I can just hear it now, "My new Winesap will run anything".

Embedded Linux runs WiFi networks


Linksys last month switched the standard model of its WRT54G wireless router from Linux to VxWorks, starting with version 5.0. For some unknown reason Linksys is now offering a WRT54GL version that is power by Linux. The L version is identical to the WRT54G ver. 4 units that Linksys previously shipped. I have read reports that the VxWorks versions have had problems, but at any rate Linksys has not completely switched back to Linux.

Ok, seems Microsoft is going to get a new wireless network at the Redmond campus, and it's going to be powered by Linux. That's right, the new WiFi controllers will run the Linux operating system which Microsoft has aggressively targeted as being inferior to Windows as part of its "Get the Facts" marketing campaign. What next, all of Microsoft workstations running Red Hat?

Biggest problem

Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer said, "The biggest problem we have right now is that people who should be paying for software aren't." Oh well, piracy is Microsoft's number one problem, you just heard from the big guy himself. It just goes to show how much I know. I was thinking that Linux, open Source software, and security were their big problems.

Now that I have my head on straight, everyone knows Windows security is the end users problem, not Microsoft's problem. That's why we pay hundreds of dollars a year for anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall programs.

Humm... Windows piracy may also be a problem for open source software and Linux. No that's not right, Linux can solve Microsoft's biggest problem. If all those users of pirated Windows would switch to Linux instead of a pirated copy of Windows, Microsoft's biggest problem would be solved. No more people using software they didn't pay for. Oh well, Steve has got a big job on his hands, getting all those cheapskates to switch to Linux. Well I guess that's why a CEO makes all those big bucks... they solve the company's biggest problems!

Do you rent your operating system?

When you go to a store and buy Windows, what are you really buying? If you think all those files on the CD are yours to use as you wish, think again.

Microsoft defines Windows as something you license, not something you buy, hence Microsoft reasons that it can continue to control how you use the files after you thought you purchased them. Microsoft says you don’t own it. Microsoft says it still owns the software. You bought only the privilege to use it in the ways they have determined you can or cannot use it.

A word of caution, be careful how you use those files. You may be indulging into illegal activity.

Windows Live maybe dead?

Microsoft has just announced that within a few months it will launch its first set of Web-based Office applications. Web-based applications are programs that run on Web servers and use Web pages as the user interface. Microsoft plans to create two families of Web services, one for consumers, called Windows Live, and one for small businesses, called Office Live. OK NASCAR fans, Microsoft is two laps down. For the rest of you, let's just say Microsoft is slow to get started and are playing catch up. Look what's already out on the Web, you can write documents at Writely.com, create spreadsheets at Numsum.com, and manage photo albums at Flickr.com. Oh yeah, let's not forget ThinkFree Online. This free service lets you create, access, and edit Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint documents within a Web browser. Microsoft wants you to think this is something new, far from it, it's only new to them.

Oh FUD, where do I want to go today?

FUD was defined by Gene Amdahl after he left IBM to found his own company: "FUD is the fear, uncertainty, and doubt that IBM sales people instill in the minds of potential customers who might be considering [Amdahl] products." Now that we know that FUD stands for “Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt”, have you been a victim to FUD? Well, I certainly was. Back in the early 90’s IBM introduced the OS2 operating system to compete with Microsoft Windows. IBM presented a demonstration of the OS2 operating system to our user group at a general meeting. I could clearly see that OS2 was better than Windows, but as a new user; fear, uncertainty, and doubt took hold and I stuck with Windows, as did most users. OS2 is now history because of the FUD tactic.

More than a decade later the FUD tactic is still at work in the software industry. Microsoft is now using the FUD tactic to sway users from Linux. Folks, you have nothing to fear in Linux. Linux as a desktop operating system is just as easy to use as Windows, not to say it’s the same. All major distributions of Linux have a graphical user interface that allows you to do everything with a mouse. As far as installing Linux, I find many distributions to be easier than Windows to install. Oh I know, chances are most of you have never installed Windows. You had no choice, it came pre-installed. This is due to the FUD tactic playing on the computer manufactures.

Choice, that’s where Linux can shine. I ran a search from www.linux.org and found 57 Linux distributions in English that run on the Intel platform that are currently maintained. Most of these distributions of Linux are totally free to download and use on any number of machines with no fear of copyright laws. Some require a registration fee to obtain support, but here again you have a choice. There is no uncertainty in Linux, one distribution may fade away only to have another take its place. Linux is not going to die, it’s here to stay.

Linux benefits from doubt since Linux and open source programmers don't simply say "Ha, this is perfect" but rather they say, "well, this works but so far we haven't looked at other ways". Now if Linux programmers have doubt that there could be a better way, you too should have doubt that there is a better operating system than Microsoft Windows.
Let me make it perfectly clear that I’m not here to bash Microsoft. I use Microsoft Windows everyday but am not letting the FUD tactic scare me away from Linux as it did with OS2. In my opinion Microsoft has more fear, uncertainty, and doubts of Linux than we do, the user. Oh FUD, where do I want to go today? The answer is simple; download a new distribution of Linux, with no fear, no uncertainty, or doubts!