Dear Abby – DEAR ABBY: On a recent trip to Europe I learned firsthand the meaning of the term “ugly American,” which stems partly from the loud, obnoxious voices we sometimes use in public.
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EUROPEANS PRACTICE COURTESY WHEN USING THEIR CELL PHONES
(Dear Abby)
Filed under: Wearables
This day and age, there’s really no excuse to have too little room in your average pair of cargo shorts for all the gadgets needed in a day. Convergence and shrinking PCBs have left us with do-it-all handhelds that can fit in the rear pockets of size 2 jeans on a size 4 gal, so really, you have exactly zero reasons to actually buy that abomination pictured above. If you must know, the FreeHand is a wearable neoprene pocket that keeps your keys, flash drives, RSA token and chump change within easy reach, and if you’re lucky, you may be able to convince the boss it’s being worn to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome. Folks who haven’t listened to a word we just said can ignite a Jackson right now — or spend $19.95 on this, same difference.
[Via Coolest-Gadgets]
Well, the “Social Me”-page is going to be deleted, instead on every page of every post, at the right I’ve made upgrades.
Just click on the title of this post, and you’ll see at the right what’s happened. Also, I’m going to add an avatar to my blog tomorrow.
So, see y’all tomorrow!
Daan.
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Website addons – how has the upgrade been going?
Today AT&T begins prorating ETF (Early Termination Fees). This means that any contract entered into today and after will include a clause which will lower the initial $175 early termination fee by $5 every month the contract remains active. Any contract entered into before today will not have this feature and any cancellation before the conclusion of the contract will be charged the entire fee.
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AT&T Prorated ETF Take Effect Today
One of the most popular myths perpetuated by those who look down on Linux users is that Microsoft Windows just works. In comparison to Uncle Bill’s OS, getting your computer up and running with any kind of Linux distribution requires many long days and sleepless nights to perfect – a lifestyle choice designed solely for geeks.
The Windows just works myth ends the moment you have to perform a clean installation of the operating system on your own computer – using those trusty install CD’s that were shipped with your machine.
I recently performed clean installations of Windows XP and Windows Vista on two of my home computers. Both were running Ubuntu Linux 7.10 and 8.04 prior to undertaking this re-installation process. I went into this job naively believing the “Windows just works” myth myself. I expected a few hours running few several dialog windows, a few reboots for driver installations and then I’d be up and running no problems. I was very wrong.
Windows XP
The first thing I discovered when I booted into Windows for the first time after installation, Windows XP does not recognise anywhere near as much hardware as Ubuntu Linux does. In fact, with both my Dell machines, and on both XP and Vista, I needed a very good idea of the components inside my machine to get all my hardware working properly again. The driver discs shipped with my Dell contain drivers for graphics cards, wireless devices, and brands of components that are definitely nowhere to be seen inside my computer. So I needed to select precise makes and models to get the wireless network running, graphics card up at the correct resolution and on-board ethernet. (installing these drivers wasn’t flawless either, some required multiple reboots before they would install properly)
After installing my internet security suite of choice (Kaspersky 7), I proceeded to connect to the internet and start downloading all those updates I needed. On the Windows XP box, thankfully most of what I needed was immediately provided to me in the Service Pack 3 download. Several reboots later my machine was fully up-to-date with the latest security updates and patches.
But attempting to install MSN Messenger using the ‘brilliant’ new Live Installer was a complete nightmare. After the install failed on the first attempt, it completely wrecked my system’s ability to receive any further Windows Updates at all. Apparently this is a common occurrence for Windows XP users. The only way around this ‘little’ problem was to install a tool kit called “Dial-a-Fix” that cleans up messed up Windows Update problems. (it took me about 45 minutes to find this solution) It did the job, a further reboot later though and I had again encountered the same problem with the Windows Live Installer. A further “Dial-a-Fix” + a reboot later and finally MSN Messenger was installed successfully.
I then attempted to install Windows Media Player 11 on my machine. That too failed at the first attempt, and yes, you guessed it, Windows Update was wrecked in the process. This time Dial-a-Fix just did not want to know. I attempted to completely remove Windows Media Player, that didn’t make a blind bit of difference. After about two hours of Googling help guides, attempting various repair suggestions and registry hacks, I gave up on this Windows XP install and decided to start all over again. What fun!
Once my second Windows XP re-installation was complete, I once more encountered the exact same problems trying to install MSN Messenger on the machine. But this time, wisely, I chose to install Windows Media Player updates first ahead of Messenger. After one Dial-a-Fix and reboot I was able to get Messenger installed, alongside the Media Player, and I was finally reasonably happy and content with my XP installation. Job done.
Windows Vista
Windows Update is far from perfect on Microsoft’s latest operating system Vista. After performing a clean install, getting all the drivers installed, security product installed and updated, I proceeded to install all the updates.
On about the third reboot, the machine began to rebooted repeatedly and occasionally blue screened on me. I tried going back to the “Last Known Good Configuration”, running repairs from the Vista Install CD, and following various howtos from Microsoft support guides and help forums. But the Blue Screens of Death would not leave me alone, and eventually I just gave up and decided to start from scratch again.
The second installation attempt was successful. I managed to get all the security updates and the service pack installed. MSN Messenger did fail on me once even on Vista, further demonstrating to me that the Windows Live Installer should only be issued with a computer health warning. (hey – at least it didn’t wreck my ability to receive Windows Updates this time) And let me assure you, I’m far from the only one to reach the conclusion this Installer is a pile of junk. Even Microsoft MVP’s have been recommending customers install Messenger from an external source – without the Live Installer.
Conclusion
I’m now happily enough running both Windows XP and Windows Vista on my two primary machines. But I’ve learned a very valuable lesson after these recent struggles and experiences. Windows is no more perfect than Ubuntu Linux is when it comes to a pain-free computing experience.
BothMicrosoft Windows and Ubuntu Linux ???just work??? when shipped to you in a pre-installed state on a computer. But once you have to dabble in performing OS installations yourself, you’ll have to overcome technical obstacles of an almost equal testing nature.
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It’s a Myth: Windows Does Not Just Work