24. December 2010 by admin.

     For all the High Tech toys we may receive tomorrow, remember that on that day a Saviour was given, the beginning of a journey.  Not so high tech, and not so complicated, though we make it complicated.  The simplicity of a single gift to be accepted or rejected.     Remember that you may take the gift, but not use it, just like a child plays with the box.

     I have faced life and death.  I seen evil face to face and know it does exists.  As I think about the Skillet song – Monster, I remember that just under the surface it may still exist within me.  But dig a little deeper and a holy sprit dwells, just let Him out.

     Fear, joy, happiness,anger, and hatred those and more.  The things everyone feels, for I am a man, a human - simply.  Not always understanding life.

     But for all the things we have felt and all the thing we have been though, a Saviour was born.  He stepped from Heaven and lived a life of man, suffering most horribly, not for those things He had done, but for the things we have done.

Christmas Eve, 2010 – In the word of Mr. Spock, Live Long and Prosper.

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29. November 2010 by admin.

What do I want to be when I grow up.  Some may say you are already grown up and sometime I feel like it.  Many time though I do not feel like it.

You I had a very successful career, but there is always time for more, don’t you think?

Let’s think about this, one year ago I started going back to school for what?  Well to start a new career, work for someone else for a change. On the other hand find a nice cushy Government job again and retire from it, that may be a good idea!

You know I still have that shirt in the picture.  Time to…….

Have a fun evening!

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25. November 2010 by admin.

     Yes it has been a while……

     Well for anyone who knows me I am not a big fan of Apple proprietary hardware, only that they release nothing to no one.  On the other hand, their may be some benefit in it, they control the product – Hardware & Software compatibility, it all works out of the box.

     I read an article from TechRepublic about a discussion Steve Jobs had in regard to the tablet market, smartphone and other things.  He may be right, just read what he said and take your petty – I Love Windows or I am a Linux out of the equation.

     Though Google intended for Android to be open source which by nature is a good thing in this venture it may only be good for the manufactures and carriers.  Android is a fractured OS, with each manufacturer and carrier making demands on the OS, no clear upgrade path.  I am a supporter of Open Source, but when everyone is going in their own direction you wind up with thousands of variations, so we wins?  Only the system manufacturers and carriers.

     Even with Windows at least there is only on controlling manufacturer, I can not just change it, even though many of us would like too.  There are some controls to it, some sort of quality assurance.  Of course we can bring Linux the Unix variations into the discussion.  That may be why we have not seen the complete elimination of Windows, too many products.  When on single variant rises to the top, Ubuntu, maybe then Linux will catch on.

     Something else for us to think about is screen size.  I know size does not matter!  Many of the tablet products being released are of the 7”.  Well I have I 7” slatedroid, Eken E001.  Very nice android tablet from China for $88US.  Check email, web  browsing and all the things you want from a 7” system.  It is?  The answer is with a 7” screen I can do the same things on my 4.3” Droid X screen better.  So Mr. Jobs may have a point about the screen size.

     I have been frequenting the Ipad forums around the internet and they have something the others don’t – contentment.  When you go to a windows or android forum, you get a lot of  - this don’t work or that doesn’t work and I would have liked this.  On the other hand on the Apple forums you tend to get a lot of positives.  Even when people are having problems you get about 5 posts helping them and not 5 more posts grumbling about it.

     Here is what I am saying, If you want the Windows 7 tablet than just wait for it.  It might just live up to your expectations.  If you want the 7” Android then buy it.  As a non-Apple person I can tell you the Ipad just plain works.

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6. July 2010 by admin.

Well I have not made a post here in a long while, well since the release of Windows 7.  I have upgraded many of my system and only one remains and soon it too will meet with Windows 7.

My experience has been positive after installation only minor configuration issues and is actually worth considering the upgrade.

We had the release for Office 2010 last month.  I upgraded my software with my academic pricing, who wants to pay full price?  Not really a lot of physical changes to the software, for me the only real new feature is the integrated Skydive storage.  Microsoft upgrade the Live Office to Office 2010, well scaled down version.  It is now used in combination with Microsoft’s virtual storage SkyDive which give you 25 gig of online storage.

The online version is scaled down, but you can do a decent edit of a document, power point presentation or excel spreadsheet.  You can even use OneNote.  With Office 2010 installed you can open those documents created online and have maximum use of Office’s features.

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24. October 2009 by admin.

Well the hoopla, is over.  Windows 7 is here.  Of course you knew that.  The advertising campaign has made that clear, good or bad it is here!  Is Apple worried?  Haven’t seen an Apple bashing Windows commercial in a while until now!  By the way I think Apple has its place in the market, just as Unix, Linux and others have there place, so if you are an apple lover…..

I preordered 2 copies, 1 for my netbook, Windows XP did the job, but just did not cut it for graphics.  A second copy for my desktop.  I actually should have bought 4 copies, My Wife desktop and my laptop.  $49.95 good price…..  So I guess I will buy the Windows 7, Family 3 pack for $149.00, much cheaper than the $119 for individual upgrade price.

Well I have been beta testing since the beta was first released.  I loved it, but only used it on my Netbook and Laptop so it never really got a complete workout.  The desktop is where the work is!

Since this was a preorder through Microsoft, with digital download delivery, I had to wait until I got my Microsoft email notification on Oct 22nd.  Well I stayed up until 2 am hoping the delivery would be early, but I did not get the email until 9:47 am, bummer. 

The email directed me to the downloads, you could download the 32 bit ISO or 64 Bit ISO, or the option to download 3 smaller files for installation.  Since it is easier to install from DVD, I opted for the single ISO file.  It was a 2.4 gig download, took some time, but had to take and pickup the twins from school, so that postponed my installation.

NETBOOK INSTALLATION.

I first installed it on my netbook.  I was using the Windows 7 RC version on it and had to downgrade to the Windows XP that came with the system.  I though ahead and did the several days before  so the installation would go smoothly.  Since there is not a direct upgrade option from XP, you have to backup your files and install program.  Of course Microsoft even provides the easy transfer program to migrate settings.  I did not have anything on the netbook, but decided to try the try the software for setting migration.  Only problem, the easy transfer software would not run on the netbook screen resolution!  So did not want to spend time on something I did not need, I am sure if a searched I would have found the solution, but it is up to you now. to find your own answer.

XP installation requires a clean install, which was great for me, CLEAN is better.  From start to finish it took about 25 minutes.  WOW, great job!  The installation was fast and easy.

The only things I needed to install were the HP drivers and Verizon software for my internal Broadband card.  It did not give me any fits, but tweaking was required.  On the HP Mini 1151NR, you do need the drivers and HP connection manger and the Verizon software.  Reactivated my card, updated worked great.

So far Windows 7 works as advertised, and the same was the Windows 7 Beta and RC versions.  I love it on my Netbook.

DESKTOP INSTALLATION.

Well I started the upgrade on my Vista, Desktop at around 4:30 pm.  Glad I did the netbook first!  I opted for the Vista Upgrade to Windows 7 instead of the clean install.  I have become kind of lazy and did not want to reinstall all my Desktop software and settings.  Well the long and short of the “in-place” upgrade as at 11:10 the upgrade process completed.  Over 6 hours, well it is done!

I have a lot of “stuff” and “settings” on my desktop so I was not upset about the time.  As a matter of fact I was kind of glad it took so long, I have a life and had other things to do.

Well after the upgrade everything looked good.  The proof is in the pudding, so to speak.  The actual interface is similar to Vista, other than the task bar it looked just like my vista screen.  I have a lot of stuff on my dual monitor configuration.  Nothing lost, Cool, even Stardock’s Fences!.  I definitely was not sure if the dual monitor configuration would need to be tweaked.  As a matter of fact Windows 7 works better with dual monitors than vista.  A few 3rd part software programs are not longer needed.

Initial observation, everything works!  That is the most important step to an upgrade. 

My network card is a Linksys EG1032 Gigabit 10/100/1000 card.  Windows Upgrade advisor recommended a driver upgrade, but Linksys does not have any upgrade yet!  The card seem to work fine, but windows indicates there is a problem it can not fix.  It connects and seem to work just fine.  I reactivated the internal 10/100 card to check it out, no errors.  Right now I am using the internal network card, but still have my gigabit card installed.  I only upgraded to the gigabit card to access my Network Storage which operated at 10/100/1000.

REVIEW.

Well for the most part the upgrade is a must have for XP and below.  For Vista, I can not say just now, but if you want to upgrade I would.  Other than the 6 house of upgrade time for my desktop, I had no problems.  Skipping Vista for most was probably a good idea, but being the TECH-NO-NERD…….

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2. October 2009 by admin.

Well the final product has been released! 

Go to http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/ to download your free copy!

Reviewers give it high marks.  I have Beta Tested it on all of my systems, Two Desktops, Laptop, Netbook.  It caught things on my desktop Norton 360 fully updated did not!

It’s free, home users give it a try before you pay one more $$$$.

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30. September 2009 by admin.

What is cloud computing.  Well the answers are varied, but ultimately it is computing on the internet.. off site.. Not on your desktop or your local system..

Well I have recently dabble into “cloud” computing.  For a lot of reasons, it is the future and I should get to know it, because someone is going to ask. 

For me, mostly for storage.  Not for business or important tax documents or anything that noble, but for purely personal reasons..  My Photos!

I recently returned from my daughters wedding and realized I had over 24,000 photos in many shapes and forms.  I do back up to a local network drive in my office, but not as often as I should.  About once a month on the average, more often if I remember.   I know automate the backup!

Last month I was having some problems with one of my network drive, just a 350 gig, Buffalo drive.  Nothing important on it, music, movies. Just stuff for streaming to my laptop or netbook.  I saved the drive, but lost the contents.  Of course since the stuff on it was not important I did not panic and haven’t even got around to putting stuff back on it.  But it did get me to thinking!

I started checking out on-line storage.  Carbinite was the first.  I had set up an account a while back for a free 30 day trial.  Well it worked as advertised, but would not backup Network or mapped drives.  Since I share my photos with my wife on the network, this just did not work.

I signed up for IDrive.  I set up a free 2 gig account to check out.  Nice, worked as advertised.  My problem with it and most of the other services price per gig for more storage.

I spent one whole day just looking at reviews of the major providers and found Online Storage Solutions.  They caught my eye with $19.99 per year for unlimited storage, only $15.00 if you use your PayPal account.  To good to be true!

Online Storage Solutions did not make the top 10 storage sites.  They did however get high marks in all review areas.  They did not make the top 10 purely because the reviewer said they were more technical and may not be for the average user.

The tools include, access to your unlimited storage by local drive letter, RSync, FTP access multiple sub account set up and access.  They do not have any free accounts and that is why they say they are so cheap.

My decision now do I want to give it a try. 

Well with your PayPal account they give a 15 day money back guarantee.  So I set my account up.  I have been using it for three days now.  So far I like it, .  Unlimited storage and tools I need.  My first photo backup has been working for about 19 hours now.  Not much difference from carbinites initial back up, which took 4 days for only my C:\> drive, no network drives.  I have also manually transferred some files to directories I created online using their drive access letter.

The bottom line for me is I like it, my photos are safe in an offsite storage system.

CONS:

Documentation:  None, but they do have help files and online videos that help guide you though set up.  They also have online chat with the representative or email contact or call.

Tweaking:  It does require some tweaking to get things set up. 

Internet:  Remember this is Internet Computing so your internet connection is key! Faster your connection the better.  If you have multiple internet users on your internet connection it may degrade your speed for all users.

PROS:

$15.00/year (with you PayPal account) for Unlimited storage!

Tools to get the job done, what ever your job is.  RSYNC Backup, Drive Letter Access, FTP access…

Not restricted to personal use, Business use too!

I have a fast internet connection and have seen no speed degradation for my internet users.  My wife loves FACEBOOK games, talk about eating bandwidth, and have seen no noticeable decrease in bandwidth, while backup is running.

Access to my online files from both my Laptop and Netbook.

BOTTOM LINE:  I like this product.  It works as advertised and is not as difficult as you would think to get set up.  Even with the cons, $15.00/year unlimited storage!

Get Started:  http://www.onlinestoragesolution.com

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4. September 2009 by admin.

Well here is a great piece of software if you want to keep track of your photos.  It is from Google and it is free!

I have been using it for some time now, but never really thought to give a review on it.  I use several photo editing packages; Photoshop CS3, Photoshop Elements 7.  Photoshop Element 7 has a catalog feature and works well, but Picasa3 has a fast clean interface with many organizing options.  It allows for fast upload to Goggles On-line Albums, Blogger and even a plug-in for quick upload to Facebook and others.  It also has the ability to Geo-Tag your photo in Google Earth.

It even has it’s own built-in editing software.  Cool!  Not that in-depth, but good!  Of course you could go with Kodak’s Easyshare, or even HP’s Photosmart Essential 3.5 software, which are free, and I have on my system, but I like Picasa3 overall.  

So for all the money you may have spent on Photo Album, cataloging and photo editing software, Give the FREE ones a try.  For the normal home photo hobbyist, they are easy to use and fill the need, and best of all they are FREE!

Kodak Easyshare – http://www.kodak.com; Great with my Kodak Z712IS and G610 Printer/Docking Station

Hp Photosmart – http://www.hp.com; Love many of the features.

Picasa3 – http://picasa.google.com; My Favorite overall!

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3. September 2009 by admin.

I am a beta tester for Microsoft Security Essentials.  I have been using the product on my netbook, for which I did not have and anti-virus program.  The software has seemed to work well, but since I don’t use the netbook or laptop often the result are misleading.

I have been using Norton 360 on my desktop computers, which has always appeared to do the job, but my software subscription is within 60 days of renewal.  So to make the beta testing real – I uninstalled Norton and installed Microsoft Security Essentials on my desktop.  Within the first boot up, it had discovered no less than 5 viruses.  WOW 5, on the first boot up!  It detected and eliminated them, that was without doing a scan. 

Using first  quick scan, it found another 7 virus profiles from stuff I had downloaded from the internet to my C:\> drive.  That was without doing a full system scan, including my network drives.  I started the full scan at 3 am on 2 Sep 09, by the way it is still running, I have a lot of network storage, which is where most of my downloads go!    So far it has founds another 8 viruses.  That is a total of 20 viruses, that were undetected by Norton 360, the King of Virus Detection.   I wonder how well McAfee would fair?

To be fair most of the virus profiles found were minor and easily fixed, but for the Microsoft haters out there, this is expected to be a free product.  For the home user – Do you need to pay and still get infected!  I think not!    You may want to give this product a shot when it is released to the public, projected Oct 09 (?)  about the same time Windows 7 release, coincidence?

Thanks all for you time – I will keep you posted on my finding of this product!

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28. August 2009 by admin.

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