CES 2009 is Underway

CES 2009 - CES news & blogs - CNET

The Consumer Electronics Show is underway in Las Vegas. On this site you can catch all the latest news, new products, videos, and blog reports.

Ballmer's CES Keynote Address Touts Windows 7 Beta

CES started with Steve Balmer's Keynote Address. In perhaps the biggest announcement of the night, he announced Microsoft is ready with a beta version of Windows 7 and he will show off some of its key consumer features. This story also has a 10 minute video from his address

Intel warning casts cloud over CES

Intel's fourth-quarter warning is not only bad news but bad timing. With the Consumer Electronics Show kicking off Thursday adorned by all those bright, shiny gadgets, Intel effectively said: gadgets maybe, but not so bright and shiny. And for an Intel warning, this one was particularly dire. The biggest chip bellwether said it now expects only $8.2 billion in revenue for the quarter, a 23 percent drop from the year-earlier period, and 20 percent from the third quarter. And this comes after issuing a warning on November 12.

Photoshop Elements tutorials

Amateur Photographers take note: Here are over 100 tutorials on Photoshop Elements, the low cost but very powerful version of Photoshop. This incredible program should be number one on your shopping list if you love photography but don't want to spend the big bucks for the full version of Photoshop. 99% of all photographers don't need the full version, all they need is Elements

Hotspot Shield 1.10 -Free - Hotspot Shield secures your Internet connection from hackers

I use this program whenever I use a public wi-fi with my laptop. Most public wi-fi hotspots are not secure and make your computer and communications vulnerable to hackers and security breaches. Hotspot Shield gives you a simple solution to maintain your anonymity and protect your privacy when accessing free wi-fi hotspots. Hotspot Shield creates a virtual private network (VPN) between your laptop or iPhone and our Internet gateway. This impenetrable tunnel prevents snoopers and hackers from viewing your email, instant messages, credit card information or anything else you send over the network. This means you’ll remain anonymous and secure while on-line.

Windows 7 update and More…

Obama picks RIAA's favorite lawyer for a top Justice post

As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama won applause from legal adversaries of the recording industry. Stanford law professor Larry Lessig, the doyen of the "free culture" movement, endorsed the Illinois senator, as did Google CEO Eric Schmidt and even the Pirate Party. That was then. As president-elect, one of Obama's first tech-related decisions has been to select the Recording Industry Association of America's favorite lawyer to be the third in command at the Justice Department. And Obama's pick as deputy attorney general, the second most senior position, is the lawyer who oversaw the defense of the Copyright Term Extension Act--the same law that Lessig and his allies unsuccessfully sued to overturn.

• Windows 7 beta: First impressions

Windows 7 could be one of Microsoft's greatest operating systems, if it fulfills the promise shown by the unofficial beta version (build 7000) we have been testing for the past couple of days. I have been pleased to discover over the past several days that Microsoft appears to have built on Vista's strengths and addressed most of its weaknesses with the beta release of Windows 7.

• Report: PC makers to provide free Vista-to Win-7 upgrades starting July 1

In yet another indicator as to the progress of Windows 7, the Tech ARP site reported that Microsoft plans to allow PC makers to offer customers who buy Windows Vista machines as of July 1 free upgrades to Windows 7 once it ships. Windows 7 may be closer than anyone realizes.

• Apple iTunes goes all DRM free, with three price tiers

Apple announced today that effective immediately 8 million songs on iTunes would be DRM free, and that by the end of the quarter all 10 million songs on the popular music site would be DRM free. DRM stands for Digital Rights Management, otherwise known as copy protection. DRM-free music can be shared between all your devices without complicated registration and proprietary software.

• Our Favorite Blogs - Reviews by PC Magazine

For the second year in a row, PC Magazine has done an informal survey across the PCMag editorial staff to find out which sites our colleagues and coworkers have their RSS readers pointed to. What follows are our Top 100 Blogs. They're not necessarily the best, or even the most informative, but they are what we're reading. The blogs contained herein range from the newsy to the absurd—all in all, we think they represent a fairly comprehensive cross-section of what's out there. Sadly, neither of my two blogs made the list. Oh well.

• A Preview of Next Week's CES Show and What Will be Hot

This is a preview of what may be the hot technologies of next week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Will have many stories and videos next week from CES

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Music Biz Does an About Face… and more

Music Industry to Abandon Mass Suits - WSJ.com

After years of suing thousands of people for allegedly stealing music via the Internet, the recording industry is set to drop its legal assault as it searches for more effective ways to combat online music piracy. The decision represents an abrupt shift of strategy for the industry, which has opened legal proceedings against about 35,000 people since 2003. Critics say the legal offensive ultimately did little to stem the tide of illegally downloaded music. And it created a public-relations disaster for the industry, whose lawsuits targeted, among others, several single mothers, a dead person and a 13-year-old girl.

Cloud hangs over Macworld opening

In a surprise move, the company recently shocked fans by announcing this year's Mac World event is its last. It also revealed that chief executive Steve Jobs would not present the keynote address, reigniting speculation his health has deteriorated following pancreatic cancer surgery in 2004.

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

Don't miss this video from the Onion News Network about the revolutionary new laptop from Apple. It is being shown at the Apple Mac Expo going on in San Francisco. You may not believe what you see.

LG, Netflix to launch TVs with instant movie viewing

Netflix and LG Electronics said on Sunday that LG will soon introduce TV sets that can screen Netflix movies directly from the Web without an external box. Netflix, which is seeking to equip all home-entertainment screens with instant movie-viewing capability, also announced other partnerships, including one with Microsoft's Xbox 360 to embed the movie software in its game consoles. Netflix subscribers who buy one of these devices can hook it up to their TVs to watch movies that can be downloaded from the Internet instantly, as part of their monthly rental plan. Subscribers can choose from about 12,000 movie titles and television episodes.

Starter Kit: Essential apps for your BlackBerry

So you've got a new BlackBerry? The good news is, it comes with great features right out of the box. The better news is that there are hundreds of fun and functional third-party apps to power up your fresh hardware. In our BlackBerry Starter Kit, we've rounded up a few of the most essential ones to get you started.

Hello Again…This Time from Tucson

I know its been a while since I wrote a technology blog. Some of you maybe wondering what happened to me…and some of you know what happened to me.

But, if you don’t, here is a quick synopsis. I no longer live in Ephrata…and I am no longer married (How is that for being concise). For the last few months I have been traveling around the western United States taking photographs and writing a blog about my experiences (http://postcards.corkrum.com). So, I really didn’t have time to follow the tech world or check out new software, or any of the enjoyable techie things I have been doing for over 10 years. I lived in my van mostly, or hotels and my only companions were my cameras, my Blackberry, and laptop (and my GPS unit and iPod).

But, when winter closed in, my traveling became very restricted (like to southern Arizona), so I took a place in Tucson, a city a fell in love with when I visited here a year ago). So now, I have my desktop computer back up and running and am taking great pleasure in following and exploring technology on a regular basis…and now I want to write about it again.

You don’t know how close I came to writing my last “Rants and Raves” blog, closing it down forever. But, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. But I also have a dilemma in that I really don’t have time to do two complete blogs.

I love writing my “Postcards” blog as it is so personal and I get to stretch my creative juices a lot farther…so I am not giving that one up. What I have decided to do is change the format of this blog slightly.

As I follow technology, I read many interesting articles, most of which I don’t have time to explore or write about. So now I am going to take those articles, write a quick synopsis, and put them in this blog, along with a link. Every couple of days of will publish my blog.

I am going to cover the same kinds of things that I have always covered: news, new technologies, great free programs, computers, software, digital photography, and so on. You can then choose to click the link and read more or just skip it. But, I will still write the occasional in-depth blog about things I find truly wonderful.

I think this solves my problem as I can assemble these links as I go along with my daily routine. And, in so many way, it goes back to my original newsletter format that I used to email out weekly for so many years. Want to know what it is going to look like? Well here are a couple of very interesting articles with links that I found in the last two days:

Internet Explorer Loses Market Share - PC World

The market share for Internet Explorer continues its downward spiral, while Firefox, Apple's Safari, and Google's Chrome browsers all increased their share. Firefox is now at 20%

Secunia Personal Software Inspector

A terrific free software program that can help protect you from security holes in your software. Secunia PSI seeks to address an often-overlooked software security issue: the out-of-date program. It makes sure that your applications are up-to-date, which is great not only for ensuring you've got the latest features, but it also takes care of any bug-fixes that might patch previously-unknown exploits. What's important about Secunia is that while it will notify you of updates, it only provides direct links. It won't automatically upgrade your software unless you tell it to.

Windows Starter Kit: Must-have PC apps | The Download Blog - Download.com

In this edition of the Download.com Windows Starter Kit, we've expanded our collection to include both the recommended free programs you've come to expect from us, and suitable alternatives if our choice doesn't make your grade. This year's categories include Web browsers, e-mail clients, office and productivity tools, parenting, image editors, music jukeboxes, video jukeboxes and players, file compressors, chatware, torrent clients, and seven five-star, must-have utilities.

So, what do you think? I have given you an interesting article and some good free software downloads. By the way, I am using Secunia and it does a great job. Recommended.

So, I will keep this blog going, which probably makes both of us happy. More soon!

Open Office 3.0 - A Winner

I've written before about OpenOffice, the free office software that emulates Microsoft Office software. I have used it and liked it very much and still use it on my laptop on occasion. The new version 3 is now out and available for a free download, and according the reviews I have read, it is a real winner.

A review on ZDNet called it, ..."a full-featured suite that gives us everything we need from MS Office and the world of productivity software while keeping the bottom line quite a bit more reasonable (you don’t get any more reasonable than free)."

If you want to try it out, download it at the OpenOffice.org Web site.

Why Vista Failed

Sorry I have not written much lately. I have been very busy and very distracted. I will explain all shortly.

In the meantime, I came across this interesting article on ZDNet entitled,"The Top Five Reasons Why Vista Failed." I think you might find it of interest...and it all makes perfect sense.

PS: I miss the Seinfeld/Gates ad.

Tracking Your Internet Usage

You may have heard that one of the nation's largest ISP's, ComCast will begin limiting their customers Internet usage to 250GB per month, including both uploads and downloads. And when I say downloads, that includes everything from just viewing pages to listening to music, getting software, etc.

Personally, I find this abhorrent since bandwidth has become cheaper and cheaper. And while 250GB per month is a lot, I don't like being restricted at all, even though I am probably well under the limit, most of the time. What I am worried about is that other ISP's may start doing the same thing. In fact, I would bet on it.

If this happens to you, you will probably want a program that monitor's your Internet usage so you know how much you are using. In fact, you might just want to see how much you use, just for future reference.

There is a very good program out there for us PC users that does just that...its called "Bitmeter II," from Codebox Software...and it it free. It runs in the background and will provide you all the data you might ever want to know. What is really cool is that you can program in the amount of data limitations from your ISP and it will tell you when you are getting close.

Frankly, I hope this move by Comcast blows up in their face and we never have to deal with it again. If I ever move to an area that is served by Comcast, you can bet I won't use them. Oh, and by the way, if a Comcast customer does go over the limit, they are terminated as a customer, even if they have Comcast cable TV and Comcast IP phone service. Add another greedy corporate bastard to your list.

Re-Evaluating Microsoft OneNote

Back in April, I wrote a blog about EverNote (free) vs Microsoft's OneNote (Not Free). If you forgot, these programs are a new type of software that can best be described as notebooks...where you collect data from everywhere and put them all in one place. At the time, I really liked the possibilities of OneNote, but had problems with the way it imported or copied Web pages.

Recently, I had pause to re-evaluate because of a book I read titled, "Take Back Your Life...Using Microsoft Outlook to Get Organized and Stay Organized," by Sally McGhee. I got a lot out of this book as it approaches organization in a whole new way. I adopted a large portion of her principles in my daily life now and it is working quite well.

The book title is a bit misleading as it really is more about organizational concepts rather than Outlook, although Outlook plays an important part of her plan. However, the book also mentions using OneNote...and being somewhat familiar with OneNote, I decided the program might better fit my needs (and the book's organizational plan), more so than Outlook. I like Outlook, but its inability to share data across computers makes it impractical for me (there is a way to do it, but it costs $10 a month.).

So, I decided to stick to my Thunderbird e-mail software, continue using my current Lotus Organizer...and try out OneNote for augmentation. I downloaded a 60 day trial copy from Microsoft and began using it and learning more about it.

Without getting into too many details, I found OneNote to be just what I needed to better organize my life and keep it all in one place. In less than 30 days, I decided to go ahead and purchase the program (about $58 for the Home and Student Version).

OneNote is organized like a Notebook, even on your screen. First you have a notebook with a title...and using my examples, I have two notebooks...one for my personal life and one for my professional life. Inside each notebook is a subsection (shown by tabs at the top of the screen). I have a subsection for photography, weddings, portraits, Web site, plus others for projects I am currently working on.

Inside each subsection are individual pages on subjects relating to each subsection (shown as tabs on the right of the screen). For instance, under Weddings, I have individual pages on each wedding I am doing it with my notes and e-mail's from each client. I also created a to-do list at the top of each page to remind me what has to be done for each one.

Creating new pages is simple and the program offers many templates for this purpose. I created a couple of templates for my own use...but there are many templates included for college students, businesses, meetings, to-do lists and many decorative blank pages. Creating notes on new pages couldn't be easier as they can be inserted anywhere on a page.

I have created many to-do lists for both personal and business projects that I use everyday and can check off those items after they are completed.

Now back in April, I did write that bringing Web pages into OneNote is a bit disconcerting as it doesn't put in the paragraph spacing that is present in the original page. I still have to work around that, but this nuisance is more than offset by OneNote's other assets.

I could write a great deal more, but if what I have written here sounds like it might be helpful for you, I suggest you give it a try, by downloading the 60 day trial version from Microsoft. There is an excellent tutorial that comes with the download to help get you started.

I also suggest you might want to read Sally McGhee's book. I purchased an almost new copy from an online used bookstore for about $2.50. It has been extremely helpful.

Free Movies from IMDB

For almost as long as I have been on the Net, I've been a frequent user of IMDB.com, the best movie and TV show database anywhere. If a movie or TV show was ever made anywhere in the world, IMBD (Internet Movie Data Base) has all the info about it. I don't know how many times I've watched a movie and wanted to know where I might have seen an actor or actress before. With IMDB I can enter the movie, scan the character's name, see the actor's name who is playing the part, then click on the name to see what other films they have been in.

IMBD has amazing cross-referenced names and many other features that allow you explore in depth. And it is interactive as you can review films and even submit errors and omissions you may find.

For several years, they have carried movie clips and trailer, but now they have finally taken the final evolutionary step...they now have over 6,000 films and TV shows that you can watch for free. For instance, as I write these words I am watching "Master and Commander," the action film with Russell Crowe. It is a little dark, but I could adjust my screen if I so desired.

The good news is that it works on Firefox. The Netflix movie machine only works on Internet Explorer. There was a short commercial for Honda at the beginning of the film, but that is OK.

I'd still rather watch a movie on my large screen TV with 5.1 surround, but still it is a step in the right direction, especially for IMDB. Check it out.

XP SP3...The Curse Continues

Maybe you have run into the same situation as me: Microsoft is insisting (via the Automatic Update program) that I install Windows XP Service Pack 3 on all my computers and keeps reminding me that I need to do it. I've stated here in the recent past that it is a risky proposition and isn't really necessary.

Microsoft claims that all the issues with XP3 are fixed. Not true. I must admit that I recently decided to try it on one of my computers. Guess what...it didn't work. Fortunately, it stopped the installation in mid-stream and nothing bad happened. Whew!

But the question remains...should you do it? Very recently, the Windows Secret newsletter published an interesting article by Scott Dunn on this very topic. I am republishing it here as I think it is very relevant.

_______________________________________

Don't let XP Service Pack 3 hose your system

by Scott Dunn

From the moment Microsoft released it, Service Pack 3 for Windows XP has been the subject of almost daily reports of bugs, incompatibilities, and general headaches.

You can install SP3 with confidence — providing you take certain precautions — or, if you prefer, use Windows' Automatic Update settings to keep the service pack off your system.

Multiple problems plague SP3 adopters

Windows Secrets has been reporting problems with Windows XP's Service Pack 3 almost from the instant the patch collection was first distributed. In fact, so many readers have contacted us with questions or complaints about SP3 — the last major update to Windows XP — that we've synthesized everything you need to know about this update in a single column.
Here are the most glaring SP3-related problems:
• Internet connectivity fails when using black hole routers, which drop packets (see Susan Bradley's May 1 column in our paid content and Microsoft's Knowledge Base article 314825).
• False positives are generated by Norton Internet Security and other security applications (see my May 2 Top Story).
• Device Manager settings go missing, especially in connection with using Norton Antivirus (see Susan Bradley's column in the May 29 newsletter as well as KB 953791).
• Repeated rebooting occurs on machines using an AMD processor (see Susan Bradley's May 22 column and KB 953356).
• You can't install any new updates (see KB 943144).
• Third-party visual styles encounter problems (see the Support Alert Newsletter of June 19).

Making an upgrade decision that works for you

In light of these and other problems, you may wonder whether you ever want SP3 at all, especially given that many of its enhancements focus on networking and IT-level administration. Here's the case for SP3:
Think security: In addition to new features, SP3 — like most service packs — includes numerous security updates that were available individually in the past.
Consider support: If you think you might require Microsoft's assistance to install SP3, you need to add the service pack before April 2009, when the company will end such support. And because overall support for SP2 expires in early 2010, you'll need to have SP3 installed by that date if you want general support for XP.
Be prepared: Before you install SP3, take a few precautions. First and foremost, perform a full system backup. Microsoft has digested all recommended pre-install steps in KB 950717, which also includes troubleshooting information if all does not go well.

How to remove SP3 from your Automatic Updates

If you decide you don't want SP3, Microsoft offers a tool for suppressing the automatic installation of the service pack. The Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit won't prevent you from downloading SP3 manually from the company's site, nor will it stop you from installing the patches from a CD or DVD. All it does is stop the service pack from being installed via Windows' Automatic Updates.
In addition, the Service Pack Blocker postpones the installation for only a year from SP3's release date last April.
Surf over to Microsoft's Service Pack Blocker download page and click the Download button for SPBlockerTools.exe. Click Yes to accept the license agreement and type in the path to the folder where the files will be stored (click the Browse button and navigate to the folder if you want to avoid typing).
Now open the folder containing the extracted files and double-click SPBlockingTool.exe. A command prompt window appears for a few moments and displays the statement "Action successfully completed." Unfortunately, that doesn't tell you very much. The action the message refers to is the addition of a Registry entry instructing Windows Update not to send you SP3. (The same setting on Vista blocks SP1.)
If you want to see the code that is added, do the following:
Step 1. Choose Start, Run. Type regedit and press Enter.
Step 2. In the Registry Editor, navigate in the left pane to this entry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Windows \ WindowsUpdate
Step 3. With the WindowsUpdate icon selected in the left pane, look in the right pane for a key named DoNotAllowSP.
If you later decide you want Automatic Updates to offer you Service Pack 3, simply select the DoNotAllowSP key and press Delete (or click Edit, Delete).
If you're concerned about editing the Registry (which involves risks of its own), the Service Pack Blocker can also undo the block:
Step 1. Choose Start, Run. Type cmd and press Enter.
Step 2. At the command prompt, either type the path to the SPBlockingTool.exe file, or drag the file into the command prompt window and let Windows do the typing for you.
Step 3. At the end of this command, type a space followed by /U and press Enter.
Once again, you'll see the "Action successfully completed" message and Windows Automatic Update will no longer be blocked from installing the service pack on your system.
The other tool included with the download, SPreg.cmd, is a batch file useful for administrators who want to block the service pack on remote computers; this utility requires that the machine name be specified in the command line.
Even though most of SP3's problems should now be in the past, these precautions can help ensure that you aren't one of the service pack's installation victims.

Free Software Takes You Around the Universe

It isn't often that you get something free from Microsoft (with a few very notable exceptions), but if you have even the faintest interest in astronomy, solar system, our galaxy, or our universe, Microsoft has released a wonderful free product that brings it all to life.

World Wide Telescope - Microsoft's free software for exploring the universe uses images from the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, and other prestigious space and ground-based telescopes to offer unparalleled views of the planets and stars. You can even take guided tours from real astrophysicists.

I've been using the software for only a very short time...and let me tell you, it is pretty amazing. There is so much to it that it is impossible to describe it all. One of the most impressive things is that you can enter your location, date, and time, and the program will show you your sky exactly as it is now. Then, let us say, you click on the planet Mars, it shows you the exact location of Mars at this moment in time in your sky, then brings up an image of the planet. You can zoom in and out.

One of the first things I noticed, especially when looking at "local" planets like Venus and Mars, is that they are moving on your screen. The more you zoom in, the faster they move. Of course they do in real time because the earth is rotating.

In another mode, you can bring up planets like Mars and use your mouse to zoom in and out and rotate the planet any way you desire as well as get more info on the planet.

The program has hundreds, if not thousands of images, from a variety of land-based and orbiting telescopes. For instance, you can request images of the Crab Nebula and see images of it taken with different telescopes (plus also see where it is in your sky).

As it is a free program, it deserves a look-see. And it is a lot of fun and will keep you interested for hours.

More on DNS Poisoning

In July I wrote a couple of blogs about the giant security flaw found in DNS servers. As a reminder, DNS is the Directory of Named Services...the very first place your computer goes when on the Internet to pull up the page you wish to see. It's like a phone book for Web sites. That makes it a crucial part of your Internet service.

Since my first blogs, I've learned a bit more about how this DNS security flaw works. While I won't go into excruciatingly boring details, I will give you the gist of it...a DNS server can be hacked so that when you request a certain site, you are taken to a phony site pretending to be the one you want. It is called DNS poisoning.

A hacker, in around 15 seconds, can attack a particular unpatched DNS server and change a Web site's pointer so it goes to a phony web site. Now, the vast majority of Web addresses on this one server's site are not affected...only one or a few sites are changed, which is why it is referred to as poisoning. And, of course, these sites always have something to do with money or identity theft.

Let's say a hacker attacks the the DNS server of your local ISP. In less than a minute, he changes the pointer for, lets say your bank, to point to a fake Web site that he has already created. You type in your bank's Web address and you are taken to this fake site and you put in your name and password. You have just had your identity and bank account hijacked without your knowledge.

Your ISP has no idea this is going on because the hacking method looks like nothing more than a normal request for a Web site id. Only the most sophisticated tracking methodology can be used to alert the ISP that a hack has taken place.

The good news is that there is a fix for this DNS poisoning flaw. That bad news is that the majority of folks running DNS servers (including some of the biggest ISP's like Comcast) have not applied the patch.

If you want to check if your ISP has fixed their DNS server, check out this Web site (DNS Operations, Analysis, and Research Center) recommended by CNet...or...go to the DoxPara Web site. If your test comes up bad, immediately to the OpenDNS Web site and follow their easy instructions on how to change your DNS server from your ISP's to OpenDNS. It is worth it.

I know I am repeating myself here from my previous posts on the DNS security flaw, but I cannot stress how important it is to follow these recommendations.

Two Browsers Making Headlines

There are two new browsers, both in beta, that are now the talk of the tech world...and surprise, Firefox is not one of them.

The first is Chrome, a brand new browser from the folks at Google. Yes, Google will now have their own browser. Chrome was a deep, dark secret for quite awhile, but news leaked out last week and Google decided to release a beta version to the general public. Just go to the main Google Web page and you will see a link to it.

How is it? I have not tried it yet, but early reports say that it shows a lot of promise. It's fast (almost as fast as Firefox) but does take up quite a bit more memory than Firefox. The bad news is that they have already found security flaws in it that can lead to a Denial-of-Service attack. I am sure that will be fixed soon. Remember, it is only in beta.

To learn more about it and even download it, head over to Google and watch their videos. You can also read an in-depth hands-on report on the PC Magazine Web site. The one thing you should know is that Google has the ability to track your keystrokes for everything you type in the address bar. The good news is that you can change the privacy settings and stop that from happening.

The other "new" browser making news is Microsoft's Internet Explorer, V.8, which is now in its second beta version, and is also available for download. Everything I read about says that it is not worth knowing about right now...its is horrendously slower than Firefox and is a memory hog. One Windows experts says that it does not render many Web pages correctly yet, including G-Mail.

If you would like some unbiased info about it, check out Ed Bott's in-depth report, on the ZDNet Web site.

After all my reading and research, I am sticking with Firefox.

Vista Verdict - 18 Months Later

Is Vista a good operating system or not? A year and a half after its release, the opinions about Microsoft's current operating system are as varied as they could possibly be. Now, before I go any further, I must tell you that I have never used Vista, so I can't give you my opinion. But that is not my point here. I only want to talk about perception and reality...perception being what the majority of people think, and the reality being what might really be the truth.

First...perception. In general, Vista has the perception of being too slow, too buggy and not much of an upgrade over Windows XP . So who's fault is that? I blame Microsoft. They sat back for well over a year and let critics and Apple hammer them without really fighting back. For many early adopters of Vista, it was buggy, slow and not user friendly. To this day, many new computer buyers who are forced to use Vista, still purchase and downstep to Windows XP to get back what they are used to...and they get the majority of the publicity. Let's face it, we live in a time when negativity gets far more ink than any positive stories.

And, of course, Apple has been running ads featuring Mac vs PC, strongly implying that Mac is better. While these ads are cute, they are, in fact, hit pieces against Microsoft. Combine that with the strongly implied perception that Vista is not very good, the majority of us come away with the opinion that Vista is not a good upgrade....and Microsoft has done almost nothing to change our minds.

Mostly, Microsoft's reaction has been nothing but standard public relations output saying how great it is and how many millions of product they have sold. Tech reporters and, indeed most of the public, can spot standard PR statements and take them with a grain of salt.

Now, finally Microsoft is starting to fight back. They have budgeted $300 million for an ad and PR campaign to promote the values of Vista and reclaim their reputation in the world of operating systems. They have even hired comedian Jerry Seinfeld to be their spokesman (who, by the way, formerly did some ads for Apple and used a MAC on his long-running TV show). Look for these new ads coming soon to your TV soon.

So the bottom line for perception is that Vista has too many problems to be considered a good choice for an operating system. And, as well all know, perception today is reality.

But, now, let's look at the real reality (if there is such a thing). Many, many people in the tech media, whose opinion I trust, say that Vista is a good operating system...and some of these folks are avid Mac users. They also report that while Vista looks the same as XP, what is under the hood is so much better, especially in the area of security. Their change of opinion came after the release of Service Pack 1, which fixed a lot of Vista's negative issues. But SP1 took a year to get to market...far too long. And many software manufacturers took a long time to upgrade their products to run on Vista...as did many hardware manufacturers who needed to write new drivers for Vista. So again, Vista took a perception hit.

But all tech journalists (including me) agree on one point: do not upgrade your current computer running XP to Vista. For me, his has been the rule of thumb for quite some time...upgrading do a new operating system will not only cause you problems, you will notice a slowdown of you computing performance.

But, if I ordered a new computer today, I would not be afraid if it came with Vista...as long as my new system came with a dual core processor and about 3Gb of RAM. The sad thing is that I probably would not see a much of a performance improvement over my current dual core computer. I have always said that Intel and AMD are always inventing faster processors and Microsoft always finds a way to slow them down. That is reality.

The bottom line may be that Vista is a good product today, as long as its running on a new high speed computer with lots of memory. But, I honestly believe that Microsoft will never get its reputation back until possibly the release of Windows 7, their new operating system scheduled for next year. If Microsoft puts in a super-human effort to make it good, they will again reclaim their reputation...because most of us really want them to. After all, most of us are running PC's and we want better.

The other thing they should, but won't, is come out with two very different versions of Windows, one for consumers and one for business. They claim to do that with Vista, but the differences between the two are extremely minimal. There is so much stuff they could take out for business users to make it a slimmer (and perhaps a faster) operating system.

A Better Uninstaller

Sorry that my art show schedule prevents me from keeping up with my blogging. These days I am home for two nights and on the road for five. Lately, I have been in Leavenworth where there is no Wi-Fi to get on line. But, I managed to find a few minutes to write this one for you.

Some time ago, I wrote about some of my favorite free utilities. One of them was ZSoft Uninstaller. And while it is still a very fine piece of software, I believe I have found a better one.

The uninstalling software that I now consider my favorite is the Revo Uninstaller. It also is a free utility program that you can download from either download.com or the Revo Web site. Why do I now recommend Revo?

First, it is a more thorough uninstaller as it even goes out and looks throughout your computer for any bits and pieces that a program may leave behind when it is removed...including the registration files. It then removes those remnants completely. For instance, when I removed an old version of Adobe Reader, it found many, many instances in the registry where it left remnants behind and gave me the option of removing them.

The second reason I like it so much is that it lists on your screen all the programs that are installed...far more than the Zsoft program does. When I ran it on one of my older computers, it found tons of stuff I had forgotten was even there. This makes it so easy when you finally sit down to clean out your computer.

Third, it has what is called a "Hunter Mode." This is a special, innovative feature that, with a single click of the mouse, give you the flexibility to uninstall, stop or delete a program, prevent it from loading at startup, or get information about it. Very handy.

There are also several other tools that are included with the program that you can find out about on the company's Web Site. I give this program my highest rating and suggest you download it ASAP.

Changing Drive Letters

When you add drives to your computer, including extra hard drives, CD/DVD drives, USB drives, and even memory cards from cameras, Windows automatically assigns the next available drive letter. Many times, Windows will retain these drive letters if you unplug, then re-plug in a drive. Sometimes it doesn't.

If you want some consistency in your drive lettering scheme, OR you use more than one computer and would like the same drive lettering consistency across all your computers (assuming you move portable hard drives or USB drives from one computer to another), Windows offers you a way to manage your drive letters on each computer. Here is how you do it:

1. Click on Start, then Right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.

2. Under Computer Management, click Disk Management. In the right pane, you’ll see your drives listed. CD-ROM drives are listed at the bottom of the pane.

3. Right-click the drive or device you want to change, and then click Change Drive Letter and Paths.

4. Click Change, click Assign the following drive letter, click the drive letter you want to assign, and then click OK.

I have found that once you do this, your lettering scheme will not change as Windows recognizes the name of the drive and consistently assigns the same drive letter that you have chosen. It goes without saying that you should never change the lettering of your main hard drive (C:). And, in fact, Windows will not let you do it.

As I use three computers on a regular basis, I've found that having the same drive letters assigned to my portable devices is a great help in getting my work done.

Two Important Legal Rulings

Just a brief blog today on two very important legal rulings that may affect all of us.

First, the FCC has rules that Internet Service Provider Comcast can no longer prevent users from using BiTorrent for downloading. Until recently when they reversed their policy, Comcast had blocked all access to BiTorrent downloads, which, in some cases, is used for downloading copyrighted materials like music, movies, software and other items. Comcast did not tell its subscribers that it was doing this.

Comcast had said that BitTorrent downloaders were eating up far to much of its bandwidth. The Federal Communications Commission handed Comcast a cease-and-desist order and required the company to disclose to subscribers in the future how it plans to manage traffic. This marks the first time that the Federal government has stepped in to regulate so-called Net Neutrality, which is a nice way of saying that ISP's cannot pick and choose what sites they will let their users see and how much bandwidth certain sites get.

Even though the FCC imposed no penalty on Comcast, they are going to appeal the decision.

The second ruling comes from a California judge who has ruled that Sprint cannot charge a $200 penalty fee for early termination of a cell phone contract. In addition, the judge ruled that the wireless operator should pay back $18.2 million in collected fees to consumers, a decision that could help sway decisions on similar cases throughout the country.

The preliminary decision released earlier this week is a major blow to Sprint and to other phone companies in their battle to defend themselves against angry consumers who say the fees imposed on them when they leave the companies' services are unlawful.

Verizon Wireless, which was also being sued in California, has already settled its case, agreeing to pay $21 million to settle all claims against the company. And after the decision against Sprint, there's a chance that cases against T-Mobile and AT&T could also be settled. Look for the Sprint case to be appealed.

All this comes at a time when the Federal Communications Commission is enduring intense lobbying over how best to handle the fees. Telecommunications companies have asked the FCC to regulate the fees and shield wireless companies from class action lawsuits in state courts, such as the one Sprint just lost.

Huge Yard Sale

This is one of those times I use my blog for personal gain. If you live in the vicinity of Ephrata, you may want to come to our huge yard/moving sale that we are holding today and tomorrow. We are selling a large majority of our belongings including computer equipment, stereo equipment, tons of books, furniture movies, dishes, pictures, frames, and much much more.

We have a lot of stuff to sell, so come early and often.

Our address is 238 D St. SW in Ephrata.

I promise a good high tech blog as soon as I get my computer equipment back up and running. I am selling the desk that it sits on.

Satellite Radio Merger Approved

The proposed merger between Sirius and XM, the two competing satellite radio services, has been approved by the Federal Communications Commission. Over 17 months ago, when the proposed merger was first proposed, it was predicted that the FCC would never approve this merger because of its obvious monopoly considerations. But, the two companies made several proposals that made the merger more palatable to government officials. The vote was 3-2 and was split along party lines with the Democrats in opposition.

Among the concessions made by the two companies was a 3 year price freeze, the creation of over 20 new channels dedicated to non-commercial and minority interests and a la carte pricing that will happen within three months of the final merger.

The two companies are also proposing a 50 channel a la carte package that will sell for $6.95 a month. This would work for me, and frankly, I would be pressed to find that many channels that have music, news, and sports that I would find interesting. But there are enough really good channels that make this a very viable option for me.

The a la carte packages will require a new type of receiver that is not yet on the market, so if these packages sound interesting to you, hold off for little while

The merger was rigorously opposed by the National Association of Broadcasters who fear it will hurt terrestrial radio stations, both AM and FM. The truth is that these stations are already in serious trouble. They have been hurt by the Internet, iPod-type devices, and the fact that most independent radio stations have been bought out by major broadcasting giants like Clear Channel and others. Their programming has become just plain boring and not worth listening to. Just turn on your radio and you will see what I mean. There are far more interesting radio stations on the Net and on both Sirius and XM.

As part of of my satellite TV packages, I have experienced both XM and Sirius. There is no doubt in my mind that XM offers a superior product, less talk and more music and information. Also, audiophile journalists report that XM's sound quality is definitely superior and I agree.

Stay tuned for more info.

Best of the DNS

Today, as promised, I want to tell you about changing the DNS server that your computer uses on the Internet. I will give you the Web site where the fastest, safest and and most secure DNS can be accessed and used by you...for free.

But, first, an important update on yesterday's blog. As I said, it wouldn't be long before hackers try to exploit the current flaw in DNS on servers that have not upgraded. Well, I was right...and my prediction took less than 24 hours. InfoWorld is reporting that a new attack code has been released into the wild that will allow hackers to hijack (or poison, as it is now being called) unpatched DNS servers...and from what I have been able to find out, the large majority of DNS servers in the world have not been patched. Even some of the largest Internet providers in the US have not updated their servers. Unbelievable.

Internet security experts warn that this code may give criminals a way to launch almost undetectable phishing attacks against Internet users whose service providers have not installed the latest DNS server patches. Attackers could also use the code to silently redirect users to fake software update servers in order to install malicious software on their computers...and you won't even know it.

I urge you, as soon as possible to go to the Web site I gave you yesterday, http://www.doxpara.com to see if your DNS server is safe. All it takes is the click of one button and you will find out almost immediately. If you get a bad report (or even a good one), I want you to think strongly about changing your DNS server immediately to one that will be much better...and I can tell you that this company's DNS servers were patched almost immediately.

The Web site where I want you to go is http://www.opendns.com/. This company has been around for a while and has been touted by Internet journalists and security experts as being the best. OpenDNS is easy to set up and will allow you not only replace the DNS server you are now using, but actually add additional levels of security to block phishing sites, pornographic sites, adult-related sites, video sharing sites, and even social networking sites. This means that parents can have much more control on their children's Web browsing...and the kids won't even know what you have done.

There are multiple levels of security and site blocking so you can set the level to suit your situation. You can also get statistics on your family's Web Browsing habits, set up shortcuts so you don't have to type in long web addresses, block specific Web sites, and even allow certain Web sites that might be blocked by the filtering. There are other features to numerous to name here, but you get the idea.

Set up is simple and takes only a couple of minutes. Click on the "Get Started" button on the home page and it will walk you through setting it up for your computer or even your specific router. It could not be easier. Then, you can start customizing your setup to suit your needs. Because it is probably the most up-to-date DNS server out there for blocking bad sites (especially phishing), everyone should be using it.

Now that you have finished reading my blog, get over to doxpara.com NOW!!!