Journal Entries - February, 2007

February 1, 2007
A Vista-Free Zone Until Next Week

If you don't already know that there are Linux distros that can completely blow away any Windows operating system, you should do yourself a favor and take a look at It's 2007 and Linux has arrived! There's stuff in there that even I didn't know about.

If you use Windows XP, you may be aware that "When you initiate a file search in Windows XP, it searches for files inside ZIP and CAB archives." If you want to avoid the delay that that additional work causes, you can reportedly Prevent Windows XP from searching inside ZIP and CAB files. I don't use Windows any more, so I cannot vouch for the safety or effectiveness of the proposed solution.

In France, it may soon become perfectly acceptable to take a nap at work. If you don't live in France, you may want to memorize the Top 10 Excuses for Falling Asleep at Your Desk.

For years, we've all known that the Linux kernel was created by a Finnish guy named Linus Torvalds. Now it turns out that we were wrong — it was actually created by superior beings from a distant planet.

It's titled The Worst Fight Scene Ever, and it clearly and hilariously showcases William Shatner's incredible acting skills.

February 2, 2007
A Vista-Free Zone Until Next Week

Do you understand the main difference between closed source and open source operating systems and software? Mabolosoft Sells Seedless Fruit may not be a perfect analogy, but it explains the difference in a short, easy-to-understand way.

Last July, E-Learning software system provider Blackboard received a U.S. patent that caused shockwaves throughout the educational community by giving Blackboard what many people believe to be an unfair and unearned advantage over all of its competitors. In fact, on the same day that the patent was issued, Blackboard filed a patent violation suit against one of its competitors, Desire2Learn. Now, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted The Software Freedom Law Center's "request for a re-examination of Blackboard's patent." Personally, I believe that Blackboard's patent should never have been issued, and I hope that it will be revoked as soon as possible.

If you watch the NBC TV sitcom, The Office, you've probably thought the same thing that I have: "If a boss in real life acted the way that Michael Scott acts on that show, they would be fired and their company would be sued." With that in mind, here's a blog that estimates what each episode of Michael's mistakes would cost a real company in lawsuits.

Do you know if this story is true? I haven't been able to confirm it through Google searches. Reportedly, a contestant on the TV quiz show, Who Wants To Be A Millionnaire, may be one of the dimmest people on earth.

February 3, 2007
A Vista-Free Zone Until Tomorrow

If you're a Linux user, and you love Linux's stability, power, security and other advantages, but you miss all of the expensive and intrusive inconveniences that Windows used to put you through, then Linux Genuine Advantage is for you. "Linux Genuine Advantage is an exciting and mandatory new way for you to place your computer under the remote control of an untrusted third party!"

It makes sense, and I generally agree with 10 Reasons Why One Should Adopt Linux, but can you spot its one glaring factual error? I'll give you a clue — it's in the very first sentence.

Have you spotted it yet? Here it is: Linux is not "an operating system." There is no such thing as "the Linux operating system." There are hundreds of different Linux-based operating systems, known as "Linux distros." The Linux kernel is the basic underlying code that every Linux distro uses, but each distro adds its own choice of applications, menus, an installer, configuration tools, and other features to the Linux kernel, to turn it into an operating system. That's why there are so many different Linux distros. The Linux kernel itself is kind of like a car engine. It can be used to power hundreds of different kinds of cars, but by itself it's not a car.

I was wondering when this was finally going to happen. Viacom Inc. has demanded that Google Inc.'s online video service YouTube pull down all of its video clips. To me, it's just more evidence that it's only a matter of time until online "video sharing" sites are going to suffer the consequences of building their business plans around allowing users to post multitudes of copyright-violating videos. What good will sites like Google video and YouTube be without copyrighted videos? See Remind Me Why YouTube Is Important.

Sometimes, you just have to do whatever it takes to make your boss happy. Or do you?

I'm always happy to read and share a story about a good, good dog.

February 4, 2007

It took 5 years and cost billions of dollars in development, but in the past week, Microsoft's release of its new Windows Vista operating system was reportedly met with yawns and trepidation. Apparently, many PC users listened to those of us who have been telling the truth about Vista's many downsides for the past several months.

Corporate decision makers must have also done their homework about Vista, because a ComputerWorld poll of 40 organizations "found that only three expected Vista to be deployed on more than half of their desktops by the end of the year."

In the meantime, those who chose to switch to Vista are already starting to report the Vista problems that many of us have known about for the past several months. If you're still considering switching to Vista, be sure to read Reader Feedback: Windows Vista Woes. In fact, there are several reader-reported Vista problems in there that even I hadn't heard of before.

Do you still use floppy disks? If so, you're in the minority of computer users. In fact, you may want to stock up on them before it's too late.

Nowdays, more and more stores are asking for your telephone number and email address. Should you give them that information? Only if you like getting telemarketing phone calls and spam email messages.

I've taught at several different colleges, so I'm speaking from experience: If you're a student who cares about your grades and your future, please don't do any of the 45 Things To Do In An Exam If You Are Bored.

February 5, 2007

Do your friends and relatives all count on you to provide them with PC tech support? Are you tired of having to deal with the hundreds of viruses, trojans, and other malware that their Windows PCs always collect? Here's a story that illustrates how you could save yourself a lot of trouble and provide them with a much more secure computing experience, by switching their computers to a Linux distro.

Years ago, international aid agencies "funded a campaign to dig wells in Eastern India and Bangladesh" to provide safe groundwater to the poor people of those countries. Unfortunately, it turned out that many of those wells contained high levels of poisonous arsenic. Now, a Bangladesh-born professor has received a $1 million engineering prize for developing an inexpensive way to remove arsenic from well water. He plans to use most of the prize money to provide arsenic filters to needy communities. I'll drink to that.

I sent a link to this article to my cousin Wayne, who is the most allergic person I've ever known. Swiss researchers have developed a new type of allergy vaccine that works in a fraction of the time of old vaccines, while using a tiny fraction of the amount of allergen. If you don't suffer from allergies, you may not know what all of that means, but it's tremendous news for people like my cousin Wayne.

Did you know that there's a natural sweetener that is actually good for you? A few months ago, my cousin Rita gave me a sample of Stevia powder. It's really sweet; it's all natural; it's good for you; and you can even grow it yourself.

The whole series of PC vs. Mac commercials make it look like PCs are only good for doing number-crunching, while Macs can do all kinds of fun things. Here's a funny PC vs. Mac commercial spoof that tells the other side of the story.

February 6, 2007

By now, we all know that upgrading an existing computer to Windows Vista is an expensive, frustrating, and trouble-filled option. Would it be better to just buy a new computer that comes with Vista already installed on it? Read An Open Letter To Bill Gates (and the informative comments that appear under it) before you decide.

If you're a parent, or if you've spent much time babysitting, you're already familiar with the experience of answering a child's questions:

Where's Mommy?
She went to the store.
Why?
To buy some groceries.
Why?
Because we need to have things to eat.
Why?

Amazingly, it turns out that a series of "Why?" questions is often a great way to find the solution to a business problem.

Here's a funny Mac commercial that compares a Mac's capabilities to a PC's capabilities right out of the box.

In the PC vs. Mac commercials, the PC is always very up-tight, while the Mac is always very laid-back. Here's a funny PC vs. Mac spoof in which the Mac is a little too laid back.

Here's another funny Mac commercial, showing how Windows Vista's security warnings work. I love the punch line at the end.

February 7, 2007

If you need more evidence than the many technical and opinion pieces to which I've linked in the past several months, here's an article that shows how Windows is less secure than Linux by comparing "the system calls that occur when a web server serves up a single page of html with a single picture." Would you like some grated parmesan cheese on that?

In a significant move that appears to have caused insignificant disruption, "Hackers briefly overwhelmed at least three of the 13 computers that help manage global computer traffic Tuesday in one of the most significant attacks against the Internet since 2002." While I'm glad that improved networking technology helped prevent the attacks from doing any significant harm, I suspect that the attackers may have been simply probing the Internet infrastructure's defenses, to look for methods to launch more devastating attacks in the future.

Do you utilize online employment sites to help you find a new job? If so, you should know the Five Things to Avoid When Job Hunting Online.

What is the "dirtiest" fuel that is currently used in electrical power plants? Coal, of course. What could end up being the "cleanest" fuel to use in the future? Coal, of course.

Valentine's Day is coming, and nothing says romance quite like hugging each other for 5,000-6,000 years.

February 8, 2007

Long-time readers of this Journal know that it drives me crazy to read about tech support people who think that their clients are stupid. In fact, every once in awhile, I link to an article by a tech support person who clearly disrespects his/her clients, and I encourage them to think about switching to a different career. Today I'd like to call your attention to a good article that educates tech support people on the subject of How To Deal With Non-Computer People.

Don't ask me to explain how it works, but scientists can now successfully slow light, completely stop light, and stop light in one spot and then make it reappear in another spot. People who understand those types of things think that such milestones could lead to the development of superfast computers and completely secure communications. I guess I'll have to take their word on that.

From what I've heard, Windows Vista is very picky about what hardware it can be installed on, even to the point of caring about which motherboard ports your hard drive's cables are plugged into. Here's a guy who was unable to install it on his PC, but then discovered one device that will easily take Windows Vista.

February 9, 2007

I've covered this topic for Windows users a few times in the past. Now here's similar information for Linux users: How to make PDFs with free software.

A recent study shows that, rather than using difficult exploits to break into other people's computers and networks, most hackers look for systems that have easy-to-guess passwords. More proof that your own mistakes are the biggest threat to your computer's security.

Yesterday, I told you that scientists have learned how to manipulate light. Now researchers claim that computers and other devices will use optical chips within the next 5 years.

If you like gadgets and you like cameras, you'll love Strange Cameras You Don't See Everyday — and you'll understand why you don't see them every day.

February 10, 2007

One of the most effective ways to surf the Web anonymously is to use the free, open source browser plug-in, Tor to "hide your tracks." Unfortunately, even though using Tor is perfectly legal, it may get you in trouble with the authorities.

Many of us are tired of having to take out a second mortgage on our homes every time Microsoft releases a new version of its Office productivity suite, especially since most of us only use a tiny fraction of its "features." That's one reason why more and more people (and organizations) are considering switching to a free, open source office suite. Here's a quick overview of a few of those alternatives. None of them are likely to usurp MS Office's throne in the near future, but one or more of them may fit your needs just fine.

If you use Firefox as your Web browser, and you're looking for an add-on that will copy the URLs from all of your open tabs to your computer's clipboard, you'll want to check out Copy All URLs and Tab URL Copier. It looks like they both do the same thing, so try them both out and then decide which one you like better.

If you've ever seen the 2002 Tom Cruise movie, Minority Report, then you probably remember having mixed feelings about people in that movie being arrested, convicted, and imprisoned for crimes that they haven't committed yet. In another example of life imitating art, "A team of world-leading neuroscientists has developed a powerful technique that allows them to look deep inside a person's brain and read their intentions before they act." Read the details and see if you think that it's a good idea. Personally, I would want them to use it on the bad guys, but I wouldn't want them to use it on me. And I would want to be the one to decide who the bad guys are.

February 11, 2007

What's the latest news about spammers? Another one bites the dust.

It used to be perfectly safe to accept a cashier's check as payment from a stranger. Not any more.

If you have pets, you need to look at this list of foods that are potentially poisonous to pets

If you can read this list of Computer Stupidities and not think of the described users as stupid, then I think you have the right attitude to work in PC tech support.

February 12, 2007

Those of us who know about computers know that both Microsoft and Apple use fear to sell their products. Unfortunately, both companies get away with it because most people don't know about computers.

Is a paperclip intuitive for a new user to use, or do you just think it's intuitive because you've used paperclips for years? If you give it a little thought, a paperclip can teach you an important lesson about computer operating systems.

If you ever have to write some copy for a brochure, newsletter, or other advertising medium, don't forget the basics of writing compelling brochure copy.

Which star has hosted Saturday Night Live more times than anyone else? I'll give you a clue — he's in this SNL skit.