Archive for the 'Software' category
I had been meaning to write a post on some very inconvenient corporate behavior on the part of CheckPoint. Instead, I’ve been spending time switching my main computer over to Vista. Yeah, I know, I can hear you laughing from here. So far, it’s been an adventure, and not one that’s made me very happy, but I hope to have a usable system by the end of the weekend. Some things are working well (Office 2007 seems slightly snappier), some not so well (it’s going to be a while before I have the security settings figured out), but I think it’s going to be an educational process (if not a productive one) when it’s over.
More soon…
Categories: General computing, Software
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I’ve received word via e-mail that my express upgrade to Vista Office Premium has shipped. I’m a touch confused, because the note says that it’s shipped, and warns that it could be three weeks before it appears. I’ve tried to think of a modern shipping method that could take three weeks to travers any distance within the continental United States. The only thing I can come up with is that they’re shipping it on its own barge. When it arrives at a Florida port, it will transfer to a rail car, and then to a truck for final shipping to my office. I’m looking forward to the shipping label.
You’d think they could spring for UPS…
Anyway, three weeks gives me plenty of time to get my files backed up before it arrives. I’ll be blogging on the process, which I hope will be smoother than I dare expect. This should be an adventure–sort of like operating system BASE jumping. Let the climbing begin.
Categories: General computing, Software
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I’ve written about copy-protected software before. In general, I think it’s a bad idea. I’ve yet to meet a scheme that can’t be defeated (albeit some require a bit of knowledge and some uncommon tools), and virtually all impose at least some burden on legitimate customers. Recently, my dear wife had a run-in with software protections that had to be the most intrusive, “you paid us and we still don’t care about you” copy protection I’ve seen this side of Sony.
Now, before I get too far into this, let me say that the system she ran into is several years old: it’s entirely possible that the company has come to its senses in subsequent releases. If so, and if the company contacts me to tell me about it, I’ll post information here. Until then, on with a cautionary tale…
You need to know that Carol is superb with all things having to do with fiber, fabric, and sewing. A friend purchased a sewing machine with embroidry attachments many years ago, but had never really used the attachments. She asked Carol to see if it could be figured out and put to use. The sewing machine and attachments were made by Husqvarna — a top brand. When Carol began installing the software, she found that it required a printer-port dongle as part of its copy-protection scheme. Fortunately, her laptop has a printer port, so she installed the dongle and proceeded with the install. She next found that the application she was installing (one of three separate applications required in order to do the sort of embroidery she wanted to try) also required a special key for the dongle–a key shaped roughly like a large watch battery. She installed the key and moved on. Each of the applications, in turn, required its own key to be placed in the dongle during the software installation process. Now, things get really fun.
Once the programs are installed, they each must be used if you want to make custom designs. Each time a program is invoked, its key must be inserted into the dongle. Since creating and saving a custom design isn’t a straight-through-the-applications sequence, there are more than three key changes required for the creation of each design. Get this image in your head: The process of creating an embroidered design isn’t just an excercise in graphical design–it’s now part of your aerobic excercise program as you get up and down, twist around to the back of the computer, stretch your arms to the dongle, reverse and repeat.
I don’t know whether the Husqvarna folks had “irritate the living daylights out of legitimate users” as an item on their design criteria list, but they nailed this feature. It’s hard to imagine a more annoying system that doesn’t involve physical mutilation.
Now, as I said at the top, it’s possible I’m ranting about a system that’s no longer sold. Lordy, I hope so. Whether it’s been relegated to the waste-bin of history or not, this is a product of the thinking that’s typical of copy-protection schemes. The thinking? Our customers don’t matter at all. The appropriate response? A decision to buy someone else’s product. I absolutely believe that developers (and all those who work in creative endeavours) should be compensated for their work. I’m not advocating intellectual property theft or a system in which no one is allowed to profit from their work. I am saying that these creative folks should respect their customers enough to figure out how to profit by making their legitimate products desirable–not by abusing the people who keep them in business by actually buying their wares.
OK, the lecture is over, and a tough week is done. More regular posting next week and news from a regional SPJ conference over the weekend…
Categories: Security, Software
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OK, a frank admission: I haven’t migrated to Vista. I’ve got my free premium upgrade on order (and a recent e-mail says that it’s going to ship sometime during or after next week) but I’m still working with Windows XP. I’ve made the shift to Office 2007, and I’m hoping that the Vista migration will cause my head to hurt less, but I’m beginning to think that’s wishful thinking.
For the last few days I’ve been watching my father-in-law make the leap to Vista. Before I go any farther, understand this: He’s no computer novice. He’s been working with computers since around the time I was born, got me interested (and trained) in computers, and has the sort of knowledge depth that most four- or five-letter certifications can only hint at. He’s done Vista the right way, buying a new super-honking, fire-breathing computer that came with the new OS already installed. All he has to do is move his applications and data files from the old softly-honking, steam-snorting computer to the new one. Piece of cake, right? Yeah.
Let me say now that if the process I’ve seen is the best that Microsoft could come up after laboring for several years, then Vista may be the last new operating system many of us will ever live to see. I’ve witnessed a level of frustration normally reserved for morally-upright 15-year olds, and still haven’t heard that most wonderful of statements, “Everything is moved over and working.” It’s enough to make me consider a Mac.
To be honest, if I had a bit more scratch right now I probably would consider a Mac. The truth is that the combined changes in Vista and Office 2007 are not dramatically more involved that the change to the Macintosh would be for most people. File incompatibilities have been minimized and there are some very nifty things I’ve seen run as widgets on Macs. Until then, though, I’ll wait for Vista. After what I’ve seen so far I’m not looking forward to it, but I am waiting.
Categories: General computing, Software
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My latest column is up at Dark Reading. I’m afraid I got up on one of my favorite soapboxes–companies trying to silence those who find flaws with their products. It’s not just security companies; take a look at the license you agree to when you use any of the major databases, for example, and you’ll find that you’ve agreed never to tell a soul if you build a test and get results.
I’m not excited about a culture built on cowardice and secrecy. This kind of thing makes no one more secure, and contributes to an atmosphere that leads to more bad surprises, rather than fewer. Let sales reps know that you don’t like this sort of thing, and that it will figure into future purchasing decisions. It’s the only real way to get the attention of the execs who think they’re doing their company a favor.
Categories: Enterprise, General computing, Security, Software
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February 16, 2007 3:51 pm
First, an admission: I’m a LifeHacker fan. Huge fan. It’s one of the sites I make sure to hit every day, because they’re going to have something there I find interesting, even if I don’t end up using it. Today, they point to an article at NextPath on top web tools for college students. It’s a pretty good starter list that focuses on things that will make it easier to find and store information, and to communicate with your fellow hard-working students. The list does a good job of recognizing the reality of a lot of college students–that collaboration is a part of life. They suggest some of the Google tools, and they’re a good start, but I think that there are tools that might just serve your needs more completely.
First, if you want to keep track of information for various classes and projects, you should look at Microsoft OneNote , a product that has improved with each iteration. The article recommends http://www.google.com/notebook/, and it can have some advantages, especially if you find yourself logging in from many different computers. Of course, it’s also free, but if you buy Microsoft Office Home and Student, you get OneNote at a very low price bundled in with other key office productivity applications.
If you want to keep a group of people organized, I can’t say enough about Airset. I first learned about Airset through a Tom Regan column in the Christian Science Monitor. Carol and I tried it and it seems that it can go a long way towards helping us keep our schedules from bump-drafting us into the wall. In addition to the calendar, there are lists, blogs, and contact books that could be perfect for classes or oranizations for which a lot of collaboration is required. The developers seem like good folks, too, who are receptive to ideas on how to make the site better and easier to use for high-demand families and groups.
I am continually amazed at how good the tools are for gathering, organizing, and using information. As Vista becomes more widespread–and with the coming of the next generation Macintosh operating system–I think we’ll see a lot more applications designed to make working in a group more effective and far more efficient.
Categories: General computing, Software
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I have a somewhat checkered history with VoIP. On the one hand, I really like making Skype-to-Skype calls. The quality tends to be great, I have some friends I make video calls with, and it’s hard to beat the price. One the other hand, a recent employer tried to switch everyone to VoIP for home offices, and the results were mixed. The system they used wanted a serious (and very reliable) broadband connection. There’s nothing like the need for reliable broadband to point out just how rare it really is out in the real world. Anyway, there’s a new VoIP system out that may be a great answer for folks who travel between public internet kiosks or just don’t want to load new software on their computer.
GizmoCall is based on Flash technology, and doesn’t require any client software beyond the Flash plugin. You get a few minutes a day of free calls to regular phone numbers, and reasonable rates after that. The folks over at LifeHacker have looked at GizmoCall, and seem to like it, though judging from their forum messages it may be a short-term victim of its own success. With Google and others jumping into the VoIP pool it’s likely that computer-based calling is going to get very interesting in 2007.
Categories: Consumer, General computing, Software
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One of my wishes for Vista is better peer networking. I was thinking a lot about that after a recent family support call. As usual with these issues, a new computer was brought into the Windows peer network, and suddenly computers that had been happily cooperating couldn’t (or wouldn’t) talk to one another. I’ve run into this at various times over the years, and can’t say that there’s been a consistent cure for the problem.
In the most recent case, the cause turned out to be the most basic: a firewall hadn’t been properly configured. Most firewalls (and you know you should have one installed on each machine) don’t configure any “safe” zones outside the machine itself. We had to tell the firewall that the home network was safe and, having done so, the networking proceeded in good order. If you’ve verified that your firewall is set up properly, then one of the following sources might do the trick:
Now, it should go without saying that you should try the fixes that don’t involve going into the registry first. I’ve done a fair amount of registry hacking over the years, and I hesitate to recommend it to any but the most experienced users.
Categories: General computing, Networking, Software
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January 29, 2007 12:31 pm
Everyone’s excited about the midnight release of Vista. It will be interesting to see if there are lines forming to be the first to pick up a copy. (My guess: not many lines, and not very long ones, at that.) While I’m waiting for my Express Upgrade copy to arrive, here’s my list of things I really hope to find in Vista…
- Networking that works. Microsoft has figured out how to get Active Directory to function reasonably well as an enterprise directory. What we haven’t seen is a way to make the Windows Peer networking work nearly as well or as consistently. I field lots of calls asking why a laptop suddenly can’t see a desktop, or why the corporate laptop is now unable to work with the nework printer at home. Home users shouldn’t have to worry about which machine has been elected Master Browser, and any networking fix that involves invoking Regedit is a non-starter. If Microsoft delivers consumer-grade networking that functions reliably, then Vista has gone a long way towards becoming a Win.
- Improved Resource Management. I’ve moved to Office 2007. While there are features that will help me in many ways, in Windows XP the Office package is a serious resource hog. My laptop has a Core2 Duo CPU and 2 GB RAM, and it still slows to a crawl when I’m working with more than one application open. Outlook 2007, for all its improvements, is the worst offender. I hear from colleagues that Offie 2007 is much better under Vista, and I’m certainly hoping that’s true.
- Usable Security. Let’s all agree that Windows XP hasn’t been as easy to make secure as we’d like. For at least three years we’ve been hearing that Vista will be dramatically better for a host of reasons. Unfortunately, recent reports have indicated that much of the security has followed the model of the TSA–convince people that if the security is truly annoying and disruptive, it must be working well. I don’t buy that premise, and I don’t want a security show. I want security that protects against things that might make it through my firewalls, and I want it to be sufficiently non-intrusive that I won’t be tempted to turn it off. That’s not an impossible list of “wants” for security.
- Recognition of the Way I Work. OK, so I’m willing to admit that I’m probably not Captain Average when it comes to the stuff I do with a computer. On the other hand, I’m no longer writing custom apps to tailor the computer to each quirk and tic of my day. So I want to keep ActiveSynch, OneNote, and Groove all humming merrily along in the background while Google Desktop does its think on the side of the monitor. While this is going on I want Trillian waiting for instant messages from multiple sources and Skype to stand ready to complete my video phone calls. Oh, yes, Outlook should be handling my e-mail and scheduling stuff. And then, I want to get some work done with Word, or Excel, or maybe Adobe Audition. Is this so much to ask? It’s the way we were all led to believe computing would be. Of course, we were led to believe we would be computing like this while we wore our white or gray suits on the way to vacation at L5 (a trip we’d take in the PanAm Space Shuttle), but enough about that. The point is, I want Vista to keep the apps from bumping into each other. Now, working on my computer feels like what I imagine it must be to drive the truck taking a rabid rhino to the vet: we trundle resolutely down the road, but I can feel the angry bumps and thwacks from the cargo box, and I just know I’m going to end up in a ditch with an angry rhinocerous doing a tango on my spleen. I want Vista to take just a little of that particular thrill out of my workday.
- I want Vista not to disappoint me. This one is hard, but I would like for the product to work as Microsoft has said it will work. I can’t ask it to make me happy, cure my halitosis, or bring back my hair, but I’d really be quite grateful if it didn’t cause the veins to throb on my temples or any more of my Linux-using friends to cluck their tongues in vague disappointment at my obvious stupidity. That last one is really beyond Vista’s abilities–the tongue-clucking will continue as long as I insist on the apostasy of a graphical user interface, but the rest would be nice. Really.
Categories: Consumer, Enterprise, General computing, Software
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If you’re like me, you get a steady drip of e-mail messages offering software at impossibly low prices. So far, you’ve resisted the lure of $29 Vista because you’re possessed of a pure heart, but now comes word of another, less noble, reason to keep a clean system. An article at InfoWorld says that half the “Vista” available for downloading has a significant malware load on its back.
Vista will have enough problems winning the PR wars without large numbers of people with illicit, malware-infested downloads trying to make the system work. Stick with the legitimate copies–if you can’t afford to buy Vista, figure out how to run one of the modern Linux distros or buy one of the cheap Macs. I know it might cost a few bucks, but if you’ve got a few dollars to spend on hardware you migh be ready to make the Mac plunge–see, Vista is spurring competitiont already!
Categories: Embedded, Security, Software
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Well, I did it–went through the process and ordered my Express Upgrade from Windows XP Pro to Vista Business. Now, I just have to fax the fulfillment company a list of answers to personal questions and wait for the mail carrier to run. It’s hard to find words to tell you just how ambivilent I am about this upgrade. On the one hand, it seems that there might be some interesting features in Vista, and I’m curious about just how good the security and search features are going to be. On the other hand, changing (or updating) an operating system qualifies as a major pain in the rear.
I’ve chosen not to participate in the beta program, so I’ll be seeing Vista just like all the other retail customers. In the meantime, I’ve been reading reviews like this one from CNet. Boy, that 7.4 rating really excites me.
I’m already hearing that the real upgrades will come starting with Service Pack 1. There’s some historical basis to that prediction, but I’d hoped that Microsoft would do a better job of rolling out a truly superb product from the get-go with Vista. Oh, I knew that the new file system had been taken out some time ago, and tht a number of other features had been pulled in order to maintain something resembling the originally-stated release schedule, but I truly wanted something to help me feel excited about using this tool once again. We’ll see if it happens, but my expectations have been tempered.
Categories: General computing, Software
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