Month: June 2009

You can fall through them, fly through them, and even walk through them in certain circumstances. Clouds offer little or no resistance. Will cyber clouds be any different? Presently, we have some privacy in what we do on our computers. We can restrict access to our own hard drives by encryption and passwords, and nobody can get in. The same assurances are being made for storing our stuff in cyber clouds, but how do we know that our data will always be secure? We must all be aware by now that stuff we upload to social networking and personal websites … Continue reading Cloud security..

The Euro version of Windows 7. There is no upgrade path because there is no equivalent version of Vista, but Europeans will get it at an upgrade price which is good for them. So, you install an operating system cleanly onto a hard drive. Now what? No browser, no e-mail client, the two things that most users want above all else are not there. If you clean install an operating system which has no access to the Internet, how can you get a browser, e-mail client or updates? . Well, you could download Firefox and Thunderbird, before installing Windows 7, … Continue reading Windows 7 E..

Language packs compatible with Vista SP2 have appeared in Windows update.. 34 of them.. that’s it.. 🙂

Back when.. DOS The choices were: DR-DOS MS-DOS And the winner was… MS-DOS. DR-DOS was probably better, but Digital Research didn’t respond to IBM, and Microsoft did. IBM supplied their own version of MS-DOS only on their own computers. Why didn’t Digital Research push for DR-DOS to be installed by other manufacturers? Who knows other than Digital Research. The product was good but the marketing was atrocious. End result.. monopoly caused by intransigence on the part of IBM/Microsoft competitors.   Windows The choices were: Microsoft Windows OS/2 And the winner was.. Microsoft Windows because, unlike OS/2, it was available to everybody … Continue reading PC – Personal Computer or Politically Correct?

Microsoft have released Version 7 drivers of the Intellipoint/Intellitype drivers for their range of keyboards and mice, and guess what? The scroll wheel on my Optical Desktop Elite keyboard is working properly for the first time in almost two and a half years. Yippeeeeeeeeeeee Apologies for the exuberance. You might want to go get them for yourselves.. 🙂 http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/downloads/default.mspx

I am still officially a British Citizen, I hold a British/EU passport, and I don’t intend to let it go anytime soon. However, there are some things which happen in the UK and Europe which really make me cringe. The latest is the response by the EU to Microsoft’s offer to sell a version of Windows which does not have Internet Explorer as part of any installation. Microsoft already sell a version which does not have Media Player, so you would think that the EU Commission would be ok with that, yes? Apparently not.. The EU Commission wants Microsoft to … Continue reading Anti-trust?

Internet You pay for 10mb download and an upload speed of 512k (set this low to prevent you setting up your own server). How do you know that you are getting what they say you are? Why, run a a speed test, of course! Before you run anything, bear in mind that there are variables: The incoming cable, especially if you are on DSL (the regular telephone line) The cable between modem and computer (and router if you use one) The router if used The network interface on your computer The amount of Internet traffic in the locality of both … Continue reading Network Speed

Twitter definition: intransitive verb chatter: to chatter or giggle in an overexcited or nervous way. In the UK one might use the word ‘twitter’ in the following context: You are on the phone to your mother and she asks how your child is.. “Oh, she is twittering away to herself and seems to be having fun”. So, have you tried Twitter? I did. Hmmmmmmm… In 140 characters or less, I am asked to type in what I am doing now, and I did that. Next day, I opened Twitter and there was all kinds of meaningless crap there, and I … Continue reading Social Networking..

Despite protestations from many fronts, Microsoft have seemingly stuck to their guns over the issue of including a classic start menu. There is no sign of such an animal in Windows 7 RC. However, it is possible to almost replicate it, and is what most Classic Menu users are going to have to do and live with until such time as Microsoft relents or some kind code writer comes up with a hack. There are two links which walk through the process of getting a cascading menu list that I have found so far. I am currently trying out each … Continue reading Windows 7 – A Classic Menu.. Kinda

.. that Vista doesn’t work, that computer users should take advantage of their free Windows 7 upgrade offer, available if you buy a computer on or after June 26th which has installed on it an operating system which doesn’t work. Best Buys words, not mine!! You can see why Best Buy staff are inclined to offer misleading information to customers. It comes right from the top of the organisation. So, Best Buy want you to buy a Vista machine which by their own admission will not work by offering you a free Windows 7 upgrade rather than buy a Vista … Continue reading Best Buy says..