Question About Vista and How I Hate MRUs

Is the beach house Windows Vista machine running ok and do you recommend buying it at this time? Yes and no. Hardware issues have recently been a problem, but that has nothing to do with Microsoft. This PC is SLI which means it uses a matched pair of video cards for enhanced performance and one of them failed, thank God, under warranty. After receiving the replacement video card I do plan on going to the 64 bit version instead of the more commonplace 32 bit entry. It's been highly recommended by a fellow tech whose opinion I trust. He runs both versions and raves about 64 bit. There have been some problems with updating drivers and they are now resolved.

Recommended memory for Vista is 1 gig. It will run fine with that amount concerning most applications, but intense gaming, auto-cad, photo rendering, etc., will certainly perform better with 2 gigs and the beach house machine may be upgraded to 3. It's simple. Vista is a resource hog and will tax memory usage. It was designed to perform this way. After checking the task manager this machine just showed over 1/2 gig usage with just two browser windows open and an antivirus program running in the background. That's over 500 megs. That doubles to over 1 gig when GuildWars, my favorite and ONLY online computer game, is up and running. Lotta' memory usage.

Dell has taken the unusual step — for a PC vendor of its size — of toning down its sales pitch for Microsoft's Vista operating system and warning businesses of the migration challenges that lie ahead for them. You can read more in a good, brief article at ZDNet.co,uk. I still recommend purchasing a new PC with Vista Premium and above. Vista Home Basic will not run some applications like QuickBooks, Peachtree, etc. If you have an older computer with less than a gig of memory and less than 1.8 gigs of processor leave well enough alone. Microsoft claims to have sold 40 million copies so far. That sounds optimistic in my opinion. There are more Vista machines showing up in the workplace, but that is usually when a new machine is purchased not people upgrading existing machines.

I do like running Vista Ultimate on this machine. It's a fast operating system and there are many hidden features that work to ensure safety and smoothness of operation. Windows Defender, included protection software, has been turned off and the normal compliment of protection software used here has been installed. Why? Read the Windows EULA (End User License Agreement). They admit they spy on us and what we are doing. I don't like this and am going to great lengths to keep Microsoft out of my computer. They are busy trying to upload MRUs on a daily basis and my attitude is kiss my ass Steve Ballmer! After all, I did purchase this expensive software. And no rental agreement was signed. It's none of Microsoft's business what I write in Word or calculate in Excel. This is a crass invasion of privacy and should be stopped immediately. If the government won't do it, I will.

If you use a PC, it is inevitable that one day you will probably use Vista. If you are comfortable with XP the transition is easy. Contrary to some hype there will be no need for classroom/tutorial sessions. It's still hard for me to fathom that Microsoft has sold 40 million copies. Oh well, people lined up to buy iPhones. Isn't human nature amazing?

"Just 'cause you're paranoid doesn't mean there's not someone after you."
~H.D. Murphy

Travel Safely

Independence Day. Good day for being casual. Good day to remember the blood, sweat, tears and laughter that helped build our Great Nation. Easing through the day was pleasant even though the temperature and humidity were up enough to make it not so comfortable. The diet was broken. Hey, watermelon is hard to resist. It's good plain, with salt, seedless or seeded, red or yellow and a genuine fun food. Ribs will be good tomorrow.

Thanks Brother Dave for the short notice stay. Good to get away for a brief while and it's also good to be back at the beach house. FYI, the Dragon Festival is this weekend. Great event in GuildWars. Dad, I miss you. Pray you rest in peace. Later.

"We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it."
~William Faulkner

A Basket Full...

Review: Apple's iPhone Is Great iPod and Web Device, but Lousy Phone is an article from FoxNews.com. Now, now my Democratic friends, do not be hasty and assume this is Republican prejudice just because the article is at Fox. It was written by two of the fine folks at PCMagazine. PCMag.com has several more articles about this subject including this one from John C. Dvorak.

Mr. Dvorak has been around the tech industry for quite some time and has made many poignant observations.

"The most interesting thing about this past Friday's launch of the Apple iPhone was that the people who stood in those long lines (some for days) didn't have to wait in line at all. Apple had more than enough phones to feed the spendthrifts who could afford a $600 handset. So everyone must have felt like time-wasting idiots after all was said and done. This is especially true for the creeps who thought they could turn a quick buck on eBay. I applaud Apple for having enough iPhones to meet the demand easily. You can go in today and buy one."

Many years ago John was on TechTV and upset a group of Apple Nazis sitting at the table with him by saying the new notebook offered at that time by Apple looked like a commode lid.

So if you want a low grade cell phone with an 8 gig iPod built in, rush right on down to your local orchard and spend that $600.00. It's supposed to be a helluva' media player. Yessireebobtail, for $600.00. AT&T seems to have activation problems too. Hmmmm, any idea how much that costs? Did I mention the $600.00 iPhone price? Does that include a carrying case? For $600.00, probably not. Such an accessory will probably go for another $200.00 or so, you think?

"When you let money speak for you, it drowns out anything else you meant to say."
~Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966

Oops, Oops!

It's time for a big dish of crow. My negative remarks about the MSI SLI motherboard yesterday were wrong. One of the video cards in the unit turned up fubar after a day of constant use. When it was replaced with the matching card all things became right with the beach house cyberworld. Fortunately the card is under warranty. MSI still has a horrible website. They do write a good manual though. It helped when troubleshooting. So, as has happened in the past more than once, it is admitted that I was wrong. Just glad the problem is recognized and can be resolved.

While I am at it, did I make a mistake about the iPhone or what? Thanks to Apple the other phones that were upgraded for free in the past will probably cost several hundred dollars in the near future. We will see...

"Truth will sooner come out of error than from confusion."
~Francis Bacon

Beach House Crash

The day has been spent trying to find out why this computer is locking up and why it is not happy with the striping on two SATA drives. MSI Computers has possibly the worst website ever created. This will be my last motherboard from them. It's never worked right because SLI has never been functional. Really wanted another gig of RAM to go with the new processor, but a newer motherboard may be the next purchase. All of this started when I changed the settings on a chip to tell it not to use SLI mode. No, it's not as simple as returning to previous settings. Wish I'd bought an Asus or Gigabyte board. Frustrating.

C'mon 4th of July!!

"Let freedom never perish in your hands."
~Joseph Addison

Let's Stamp Out Foolish Spending...Oh Nevermind!

iPhone, cost 500 or 600 bucks + tax, activations, mandatory contribution to the Steve Jobs vacation fund, etc., and people are buying them. Apple has limited purchases to 2 per customer. Remember that old quote about a fool and his money being soon parted? Folks this is nothing more than a cell phone with iPod capabilities!!! Think about it, they paired up with AT&T as a provider!!!! If I ever become Emperor of the Known Universe and find the sorry SOB that came up with that "least dropped calls" ad campaign he will be shot like the rabid dog he is in life! The campaign should be, "Come over to AT&T where u never have to say goodbye because we'll cut you off before you are through talking...oh yeh, we're the phone company - we don't care!"

When these ridiculously priced phones start breaking down or you have to replace the battery don't whine about the cost, you deserve to be charged any amount chosen by Apple. After watching an interview with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates last month I decided Jobs might be loosening up. He's still a damn site better than that idiot clown prince Ballmer. Anyway, Jobs was cordial, informative and actually smiled once or twice. His humorous banter was almost on the same level as Bill's. I'd hoped for a more decent and competitive prices on the newest Apple computers. Instead we get served a bowl of the same old hype. Make it a little different; promote the hell out of it and watch the suckers line up.

No, I haven't physically held one. Going to do that tomorrow, if the local Orchard dude has one in stock. Besides, I suspect one of my friends will buy one. Begging is useless, besides it's her money. Ahhhh, humans.

"In general, my children refused to eat anything that hadn't danced on TV."
~Erma Bombeck

Phriedites and Guilders

Two new sites will show up soon. They are http://www.guildwarsammo.com and http://www.southernphried .com. They've been in the making for several months. There's a "coming soon" notice at SouthernPhried and it's obvious that GuildWarsAmmo will be about a favorite pastime on the web. These should be fun places to visit and there may even be a laugh or two found.



Fellow guilders, we want a large build section so please participate. There may be a fan fiction section that takes place in this realm. Everyone take good screen shots of your character and include a short biography, list of accomplishments, fav hang outs, etc. Contact all fellow players and let them know GWAmmo is about to arrive. Everyone can take part in making this a great site. I see T-shirts in our future.

"If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins."
~Benjamin Franklin

The Great Around the World, Out n Out, All Seeking Mouse Hunt

A buddy of mine has lost her mouse. No doubt it was in her laptop bag when I worked on it. Actually I worked on two laptops and may have put it in the wrong bag. A phone call will be made. So writing about meeses today came to mind.

I use a Logitech G5. When I can afford it and find one on someone's shelf I'll buy another. This is an awesome laser mouse that has been around for over a year. It has been superseded by some other model, but I want another one just like this one. No it is not wireless and my ZBoard keyboard is also a wired device. Gamer mentality. Anyway, here's a good review - Barry's Rigs n Reviews.



That little orange tray thangy in the picture is the box of weights that comes with it. You can adjust the weight to your comfort level and this device feels good in the hand. If you're a gamer buy one of these devices. Ashby Rhett Culpepper, III, Esq., Jr., endorses this whammajamma product too. The 'G' is supposed to stand for gamer, but I think GREAT is more appropriate.

Anyone else have a great mouse to endorse? Use the comments.

“The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.”
~Jon Hammond

A Hilton Holiday Reunion

Paris is free. It looks like hanging Judge Mikeypoo Sauer is sour on the world because his circus like antics have shown him in a bad light. Again, let me say that Paris should have been punished for driving on a suspended license due to a previous DUI. Methinks 23 days in jail is a bit far fetched. Hell, she's harmless as long as she's not drinking and driving. She skipped out of the jailhouse! Wow, many has been the time I have seen the followers of the evil one intimidate folks by skipping at them. Lordy, don't let her loose on us. The shame and pain of it all!

I think community service and a HEAVY fine would have been much better. And saved the taxpayers some money. Dissenters have the right to disagree and I am sure you will. So c'mon all you Judge Sauer Nazis and let me have it. In the meantime hi ho, hi ho...

"Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves."
~Albert Einstein

A Nice Binary Dance

The new processor for this machine arrived yesterday. I replaced a 2.2 gig Athlon 64, 512K L2 cache single core that has done a good job, but strained under the pressure of Guild Wars. Even though it would hold up under this intense game being open and having several browser windows open the monitor showed a constant 100% usage. The new CPU is an Opteron 2.4 gig, 2 megs of L2 cache and it is dual core. The difference in these two chips is phenomenal.

One of the most attractive things about Guild Wars is the rendering. This game is beautiful. It is not cartoonish looking like World of Warcraft. The skies look real, the oceans and rivers look real and fire looks real. Detail is great. You can see the individual blades of grass blowing in a field. Beagle makes us slow down every once in a while and look around at the tremendous work accomplished by the coders at ArenaNet - NCSoft. Thanks Beagle. You can take a look at some of the artwork at GuildWars.com.

This motherboard is over 6 months old the 939 socket is no longer current, bleeding edge technology. It has been replaced by the AM2 socket. Processors were becoming scarce for the 939. A decision was made to keep this machine intact and upgrade the CPU. This was done after much discussion and research online. It's a true winner. The ease of installation, the massive heat sink (it looks like something out of Star Wars with copper tubes and stuff everywhere), the instant compatibility all combined for a very easy switch. The most difficult part of the project was pushing the case back into the desk. Thanks Mudslingr.

Since this is my first AMD machine in many years it's nice to report such results. Now i must get away from it and go work. It will be fun to return home tonight. Enjoy Tuesday, Monday was yesterday (I hope, lol).

"Do you think dyslexic people have difficulty dancing to 'Y.M.C.A.'?"
~Dave Sokolowski

Just 5 More Minutes, Okay Okay How About 4?

Gamers beware, there's a 12 step program coming. Interesting article over at ArsTechnica. Gamers seem to be a subset of internet addicts. Hey we have one step down already, we know how to drink coffee. I'm not so sure this isn't carrying it a little too far. They talk a lot about the "parents" and how they will be asked to deal with it. Well, what about the parents parents? Most people I know that play GuildWars ARE parents. Sheesh!

I must go now...and get out my Palm PDA to schedule work for today so I can see how many hours are leftover that can be used playing my favorite online game before beddybye. Gee, this new exercise walking thing is sure taking up time that could be spent killing monsters, conquering kingdoms and vanquishing the evil one and his servants. Oh well, no one ever said it would be easy. Thanks for the tip Ashby and y'all have a decent Monday.

"Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach that person to play online games and they won't bother you for weeks."
~Billy Wobblynife

Greed is Disgusting

"I am a true believer in the iPhone -- it's a beautiful design," said David Chamberlain, a longtime industry analyst at In-Stat, a research firm based in Scottsdale, Ariz. "I am not a true believer in spending $600, even on something like that."

These things may fool me and Apple may sell a quarter million in two days. Then they may only sell a few thousand. Even Apple users should see the stupidity in spending $600.00 for a cell phone. This will inflate prices across the board. If only Darth Jobs had the decency to sell them for $200.00 and $300.00. There's most likely an appreciable profit at those prices. Apple and Darth Jobs are the epitome of greed. Don't believe me? Try and change that battery in your iPod. Then check the price they charge to do it for you, hah! Anyway, CNNMoney has an informative article.

"It is my heart-warmed and world-embracing Christmas hope and aspiration that all of us, the high, the low, the rich, the poor, the admired, the despised, the loved, the hated, the civilized, the savage (every man and brother of us all throughout the whole earth), may eventually be gathered together in a heaven of everlasting rest and peace and bliss, except the inventor of the telephone."
~Mark Twain, Christmas greeting, 1890

Went for a Walk

Wow what a great Saturday. Had a nice walk around the neighborhood this afternoon and enjoyed the sunshine. I was online for just a few minutes to post news to my Guild and spent the rest of the day reading, eating and even watched some TV. These combined efforts have helped me avoid taking any medication for back pain. Flexiril does the job, but it zones me out for an extended period of time. And it has a hangover effect.

What a great lazy day. It's back to work tomorrow.

"If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk."
~Raymond Inmon

WiFi at 300 Feet

The majority of this week has involved installing wireless access points and hardware firewalls. The jobs have made me change my mind about a brand that I swore off several years ago, NetGear. I had 4 NetGear b/g routers show up bad in the box. These devices were always more difficult to configure, but they had greater range than their competitors. Enter the Netgear WAG-302;



This is product will cost you a little money. You can find it for $229.99 at CDW which is one of the most reliable suppliers on the internet. The extra money is worth it if you are looking for range. You will need a routing mechanism since this is a true access point. This is the first access point used by the beach house that will deliver the 300-400 feet range all manufacturers claim is possible. Most are lucky to get anything over 50-60 feet. Of course structure and atmospheric conditions will determine the limitations.

This test was done in an area adjacent to 4 other wireless networks and delivered the signal through a brick wall. It is dual band with "A" on one channel and "B/G" on the other. Yes it's a little pricy, but if you have need of the range this looks like a good product. Time will tell.

"I regularly read Internet user groups filled with messages from people trying to solve software incompatibility problems that, in terms of complexity, make the U.S. Tax Code look like Dr. Seuss."
~Dave Barry

Need for Speed

After some research and pre-buy remorse, a new CPU is on the way for the Zevon machine, named in honor of Warren Zevon one of my favorite musicians. The laptop's name is Zappa. Anyway, this is what Mudslingr and I decided to use:


AMD Opteron 180 Denmark 2.4GHz Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model OSA180CDBOX -

64 bit Support: Yes
HT: 1000MHz
Hyper-Transport Support: Yes
L1 Cache: 128KB+128KB
L2 Cache: 2 x 1MB
Manufacturing Tech: 90 nm
Multi-Core: Dual-Core
Processors Type: Server
Series: Opteron
Virtualization Technology Support: No
Model #: OSA180CDBOX
Item #: N82E16819103582


Since the motherboard is a 939 socket the choices are somewhat limited. Mud and I read the reviews and felt this was the most bang for the buck. The reviews are glowing. Only cons were price and a few people had problems overclocking. I could care less about overclocking. This is a processor built for servers, similar to the Xeon chips made by Intel. Several gamers recommended this chip. Since this is a machine with SLI (two video cards bonded) it deserves a fast CPU. BTW, thanks Mud for all the help.

It's late, and my mind is weary. Nice that the weather is pleasant and the windows can stay open. Time for some tremulous dreams.

"Fatigue is the best pillow."
~Benjamin Franklin

Ballmer, Please Leave the Planet and That's Plain English

Last week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer dismissed Google's complaints, saying at the Detroit Economic Club that the rival's objections were "baseless."
"We continue to comply with the consent decree we signed with the U.S. government in recognition to the findings around our position with Windows," Ballmer said, according to Reuters. "We think all claims to the contrary are baseless."

The above is a quote found at CNET.com. Today Microsoft, probably due to the advice of Bill Gates and that's just a guess, gave in announcing that Google would be included in the service pack update due out later this year. Well, this is a good idea. With the exception of new computer sales, Vista is not desirable in the retail market. There are issues with drivers abounding, It is EXTREMELY hardware intensive (forget having 1 gig of RAM you better make it 2!) and dadgum it all, it's priced too high. Stick with your XP or 2000 operating system until after the first service pack and then take another look.

Yes I do run Vista on one machine. It's all I can afford and afford is a real iffy word concerning this matter. I opted for the 32 bit version and Ashby Rhett Culpepper, III, Esq., Jr., tells me the 64 bit version is a damn site better. He also admits drivers can be an issue. How do I like Vista? The Ultimate version is on my gaming machine and it has some nice features. Driver issues have had me on extra medication at times. Basically, the current system won't be changed unless absolutely necessary. Just trying to upgrade a sound or video driver will send this operating system into chaos. You know, don't fix somethin' that's not broke. When the time comes, I'll build another gaming machine and use XP. Guild Wars was much better using that operating system. Still, being in the computer field, it's necessary to have a working Vista box.

Steve Ballmer needs to wipe that ton of egg off his ugly face and take his billions into retirement. Spend some time like Bill and Melinda doing good things. Create a foundation to further education on the planet. Hell, create a fund to help these poor jibbering souls that vaguely try tech help on the phone. Start a foundation to help them learn our language. Now there's a project worth considering. After all, the pennies paid to them are highway robbery so what can one expect? Better yet, bring those jobs home and share some of those ridiculous profits enjoyed by corporate tech companies. I hate to admit it, but Darth Jobs is looking much more attractive these days than Clown Prince Ballmer.

You may speak another language in the US of A, but you will never gain access to higher education and technical fields without a working knowledge of English. Nope, nay, not here in this country. Let me further expound by saying accents don't bother me. Inability to communicate with me just isn't tolerated. Can I get an Amen brothers and sisters!?

Wonder if the Windows Nazis will react to this post? They've been quiet of late. Probably not happy with Vista either,lol.

"Let's not become so worried about not offending anybody that we lose the ability to distinguish between respect and paranoia."
~Larry King, about political correctness, How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere: The Secrets of Good Communication

Moma Cass Sang a Song

Today is Monday. Ask me how I know, c'mon ask me, ask me! For two weeks I've had work planned for today and this morning before 7:30AM two emergencies have showed up and one is over 50 miles away. I even verified the scheduled work yesterday. Hopefully patience and tolerance can be exercised. When people are down and can't compute it makes for complications, especially when all their business is done online. Sometimes Monday gets you and on rare occasions it turns out to be just another day in the week.

Waiting on the dryer to finish and then it's road time. The cell phone is turned on and working. Hang in there. Tuesday starts just after midnight.

"Monday Monday, can't trust that day,
Monday Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way
Oh Monday morning, you gave me no warning of what was to be
Oh Monday Monday, how could youleave and not take me."
~Mamas & Papas

Daddy is a Happy Boy!

It was a pleasant day. Beagle, Mudslingr, Forest and Ashby came by and we ate shrimp forever. 10lbs split five ways is a lotta food. It was just about as good as it gets. Verdana and Uncle Snake sent 6lbs of Mello Joy whole bean coffee and we had some Boca Java (try the Bananas Foster - it'll make your tongue slap yo brains out!) that Beagle and Mud gifted on a recent birthday. Caffeine and food. Of course there was some Guild Wars played. I was sorta' out of it after eating and everyone let me nap. Nice to have such friends. Thank you, thank you. Y'all are the bomb!

To both families that had weddings yesterday: please forgive me. Something came up and I could not get away. It involved a visit from out of town and the situation would not permit my getting away long enough to attend either function. My panic attack was barely tolerable anyway, lol.

"Love seems the swiftest but it is the slowest of all growths. No man or woman really knows what perfect love is until they have been married a quarter of a century."
~Mark Twain

Regedit is My Life

The Smitfraud creeps have not gone away. Cleaning a PC with over 2000 infections and this stuff is all over it. Someone decided to download a bushel basket of trouble by clicking on "free" stuff. This one is bad. It has to be saved due to a large scale portfolio of family pictures. Please, most every PC comes with a DVD or CD burner so back up your valuable data. If you don't like using this storage media spend under a 100 bucks and get an external Hard Drive. Most come with backup software, are easily installed and easy to use. There's even a scheduled backup capability with just about all of them.

Now it's back to several MORE hours of registry cleaning. Wish me luck and have a great Saturday!

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does."
~William James

And Now for Something Completely Different...

Communication is mysterious. It still amazes me how some people, actually most, think that technicians can read minds. On a daily basis it overwhelms me that some people think techs can make computers do their biddings by using the power of the force. There is no force being used, nor witch doctoring, nor telepathy and very little voodoo. Don't ask me about the chicken in the trunk unless you really want to know.

Let's say a person calls me and wants a backup manipulated on the phone. That person is informed my current status is thrashing down the highway in the hooptiemobile and I will be in front of a computer in 1 hour or so. Then she says don't rush because as long as this is done in the next day or two it'll be fine, she actually has some other things more pressing. Then, remember techs don't read minds, another tech is called in to do a simple job that could have been performed under a maintenance contract by remoting in and there would have been no service call. A day later the phone call is made to arrange a time so the person could watch the procedure and know how to do it the next time. This tech is then informed of the actions taken.

While we are on the subject of technicians, let me say that we are territorial. There's a VERY valid reason for this obsession with control. Each tech, especially those maintaining networks, has a need to know about every change to a network or computer. Nothing is more frustrating than to implement protocol and then find it has been violated. We perceive things in order and don't abide chaos. Okay, most of the time anyway, lol. Changes made by clients on machines are to be expected, but shifting around backup files, changing a path in a way not normally used, etc., will send us into a reeling hell filled with anxiety that has us pushing the panic button until we return all functions to their regular state. And we are all just a little bit different. Yep, that's right, we are human beings too.

So, if you work with computers, and you do or you wouldn't be reading this, please take everything said here to heart especially that part about techs being human. We have feelings even if the exterior is cranky or casual. In a world full of rude, crass people being one does not help. Be nice. A lot of us know karate and/or voodoo and carry weapons of mass destruction (See posts in the archives). Fellow techs and people who understand this concept I expect comments today. Let us help by extending the hand of knowledge.

In the words of that grand Texas philosopher Ed Coffin, "Have a better than expected day."

"The Internet is the world's largest library. It's just that all the books are on the floor."
~John Allen Paulos