March 20, 2007

Speeding up Windows XP - Not!

Over at the forum, we've been having a discussion on how to recover from a speed-up attempt that went wrong. The original poster referred to a webpage by Bob Rankin which had this whimsical recipe:

INGREDIENTS: Cyber Sludge Remover

1 tbsp Windows Updates
2 cups Virus/Malware remover
3 lbs Software Cleanup powder
2 tbsp Hard Disk Scrubber
1 slice Defrag
1 tsp Startup Weeder
1/2 cup Registry Shavings
2 cups Virtual Memory Sanitizer
1 Extraneous Services Remover

It's nice story telling and no doubt interesting to casual users of computers but in these times, anyone who does support (and that could mean you if you have to hand hold Dad through the mess after it unravels) should take that with, ah, a pinch of salt.

Windows Updates are nearly mandatory. Yes, there was a kerfuffle with WGA Notifications (in fact, just the other day, the pest wanted to insert itself as a critical update again) and there has been the odd bad update. Unless you are ensuring compatibility with corporate applications however, the good outweighs the bad.

Resident Anti-Virus and Resident Anti-Malware are pretty mandatory as well. There are a few provisos. An AntiVirus suite that is all singing, all dancing virus killer, malware killer, SPAM filter, internet filter, firewall - you know the kitchen sink type of thing - we back away from. When one module of the suite gets corrupted, your machine is about as useful as a brick - the close association between all these modules could mean your browser stops working and your firewall acts odd and you can't download any fixes. Some of us like Avast as the Anti-Virus (no, not the Suite, just the Anti-Virus program) and Microsoft Windows Defender as Anti-Virus of choice. In the sad case that your Windows has already been contaminated, Spybot Search and Destroy, Lavasoft Adaware have a track record for effectiveness.

Software Cleanup powder refers to going into Add/Remove and uninstalling the programs that you took for a test drive but didn't find useful. Do not simply delete files and folders using Windows Explorer - Add/Remove is the structured and preferred way to go. However, those programs that you test out sometimes refuse to Add/Remove or their removal method is faulty or broken. The best advice is to only load those programs that you seriously use - you know, Microsoft Office and other business apps. If you want to play with toys and the plethora of free or shareware programs from the World Wide Web, do that on another expendable machine. Don't have an expandable machine? Well, about time you learnt how to install and use Microsoft VirtualPC or VmWare Player - you would probably need to buy another copy of Windows, but the ability to relax, laugh in the face of a corrupted virtual machine image is so much sweeter than the heart-stopping sensation of knowing that your business programs and data have gone away, away on your only machine. An additional word of advice? Set up Restore Points regularly, especially before you Add/Remove.

A Hard Disk Scrubber - yes, well, you should delete unwanted old data files, mp3 or movies that you have been magpieing. Empty out the Temp folder if you know how to find it. After deletions check that things still, before emptying out the Recycle Bin.

However, on a modern machine with casual business users, the hard disk will never fill up even if you don't scrub the hard disk. Don't get carried away. Burn some copies of your data to DVD first eh?

Defrag? For a business user? Just don't do it.

Startup entries Weeder? Yes, for notebook computers that need quick startup and quick shutdown. But you have to be quite interested in the inscrutable icons and entries - they're not well described and not well explained. Again, for the casual business user? Leave them alone.

Registry Shavings? Gasp. Unless you grok HKLM like the back of your hand, leave them alone. Those so-called Registry Cleaners are like Vim. Remember that brand? You scoured as much off the surface as you removed of the grime.

Virtual Memory Sanitiser? Windows XP and later, know how to manage this. Do you like driving a manual, un-airconditioned car up a South East Asian traffic jam? Do ya?

Extraneous Services Remover? "Oi - who're you calling extraneous?". Even the geeks find they sometimes shut off services and then months later, they wonder why certain programs won't start. Leave them alone.

Ultra important things casual users don't do but they should.

Get an external hard disk

Get a disk cloning / imaging program

Make a disk image of your whole system drive to the external hard disk when Windows is unblemished.

Switch off the external hard disk and keep it safe, away from your elbow.

Burn DVDs or CDs of your data regularly.

From time to time, make another disk image.

Sit behind an inexpensive hardware router / firewall, particularly when you are surfing the 'Net on broadband connection.

Don't shut off UAC or it's equivalent.

Most importantly, count to ten before you click "Download this - Ok" or "Install this - Ok" - you may suddenly come sane and refuse to do it.

There isn't a tenth point. What do you think this is? A top ten just because I have to show that I can count?

Do Good.

Posted by Anandasim at 07:13 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Post ABC Island Second Life Round-Up

So last night was an interesting experience and if you watched the show from any of the three broadcast transmissions TV, Internet or Second Life there was one part included about the frustrations of Second Life crashing. It crashed at the end of the show so I missed the post show discussion with the ABC Island’s owner Abi Goldflake and 4 Corners presenter Ticky Fullerton which would have been quite insightful with the ~60 avatars (People) watching and interacting together in Second Life.

I missed the exact reason why there was a ~20 minute delay for the Second Life broadcast to start except that they had some issues with QuickTime Streaming Media Server and I believe the streaming video came directly from the ABC and was layered into Second Life so that was more of an ABC issue rather than a Second Life issue. Either way once the streaming got going it worked quite well and due to the hiccups the team were having I thought I best watch the show on HDTV just in case it never got off the ground so here is a comparison of the HDTV screening vs the Second Life screening with a little time shifting in play of course.

All in all my first day with a Second Life was interesting to say the least and the 4 Corners report was very insightful on what these virtual worlds behold. It is very early days in what these virtual worlds can offer though I have a few ideas on that though I will think about how ludicrous they are before sharing those with you. One thing is for sure though and that is I need to get my avatar looking good as sitting next to Mztry Moody I was looking rather ordinary.

If you missed the show in some form last night you can catch it at the 4 Corners Broadband Edition website.

Posted by Stephen at 03:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 19, 2007

Getting a Second Life for 4 Corners

I have tried to get my head around the concept and the phenomena that is the online virtual world of ‘Second Life’ for a while now and up until today I had decided that the screws need only be loose in one upstairs department for occupational health and safety reasons.

I decided to jump right in this morning at the deep end for tonight’s edition of 4 Corners on the ABC. This week’s episode is titled “You Only Live Twice” where they will be looking at ‘3D Virtual worlds where citizens chase adventure, money and sex’. It starts to get interesting now as it will also be available online to watch at the same time via the 4 Corners Web Specials and then the twist comes as it will also be simulcast on/in the ABC Island at Second Life.

What makes this interesting for me is that the broadcast in Second Life will be held in the ABC Amphitheatre (Second Life Direct Link), which for all intents and purposes looks and functions like a real-world amphitheatre where people just pull up a seat next to someone else and watch the show together chatting in real-time about the topic. It in theory would be just like having 100 likeminded people sitting in your living room discussing the show as you watched it albeit though a little crowded in your living room on your standard TV.

Here you can get to Second Life and check the system requirements as you will need a bit of graphics grunt and a broadband internet connection with Quicktime Player installed to get the most out of the ABC Island in Second Life then register and download the 30Mb app. and checkout the ABC Second Life Help/Faq and then go directly to ABC Island once everything is installed.

I captured the screenshots as I went from one normal life to a Second Life. I will post a follow up later and at some stage more Second Life adventures as it is quite remarkable what is inside this virtual world and what you can do inside. One last thing is if you thought MySpace was a scary place to be, there is a reason why Second Life is limited to people over the age of 18.

Also worthy of noting is that the ABC Island only went live at Midnight except for some testing over the weekend which must boost the spirits of Our ABC's 'New Media Unit'.

It is starting to get quite crowded in here now and it is only 7:45pm

(All times are based on US PDT until I can work that bit out)

[1:41] ABC CINEMA SCREEN: New media URL set.
[1:41] ABC CINEMA SCREEN: New media URL set.
[1:48] Lolah Ivanova shouts: I'm going to introduce Ms. Abi Goldflake, Abc island owner. She's going to tell you all about tonights event!
[1:49] Abi Goldflake shouts: Hi everyone, welcome to our island. Great to see you all here. I’m just going to explain how tonight’s events will unfold….
[1:49] Abi Goldflake: The 4 Corners program will start at 8.30pm. Press play on the movies button at the bottom of your screen to watch the program…
[1:49] Abi Goldflake: can everyone hear me?
[1:49] Pangur Cattaneo: yes
[1:49] skribe Forti: Yes
[1:49] Esmeralda Vernon: yes abi
[1:49] Abi Goldflake: cool. Please feel free to chat during the program or IM people directly if you want to talk personally. If the chat is annoying you, you can mute people by right clicking on them and selecting mute…
[1:50] Abi Goldflake: If you have any questions about ABC Island or about the program for the discussion forum, please IM me (IM rather than chat please) during or straight after the program…
[1:50] Abi Goldflake: 10 minutes or so after the program has finished, we’ll start the Q&A session with the 4 Corners presenter, Ticky Fullerton. I will ask her the questions I’ve received via IM and she will answer
[1:50] Abi Goldflake: I’m going to run this via the ABC Friends group IM so that others who can’t fit into the island can also follow the discussion. Anyone here who is not a member of ABC Friends will need to join now (go to Search Groups – search ABC then click Join)…
[1:50] Abi Goldflake: If you have follow-up questions during the Q&A, please IM me directly at Abi Goldflake and I will try to include them. I think this will be the simplest way to manage all the questions rather than having an open chat session which could get too cluttered…
[1:51] Abi Goldflake: It’d be good to keep ABC Friends IM clear for the questions and answers themselves…
[1:51] Abi Goldflake: Please also remember that this is the ABC Island and this is a moderated event so we expect appropriate language and behaviour. If we feel that anyone is acting inappropriately, we will warn them, remove them and ultimately ban them from the island…
[1:51] Abi Goldflake: This is the first time we’ve tried this – and also the very first day our island is open so please bear with us if there are a few technical hitches (fingers crossed!). OK, lecture over! I’ll let you know when the show is starting shortly.

Quite a diverse bunch of characters here or I should say avatars.

Posted by Stephen at 04:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

A 21st Century 'Who's on first?'

Straight from my inbox to you...

If Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were alive today, their infamous sketch, "Who's on First?" might have turned out similar to this:

COSTELLO CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM ABBOTT

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: Thanks. I'm setting up an office in my den and I'm thinking about buying a computer.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: No, the name's Lou.

ABBOTT: Your computer?

COSTELLO: I don't own a computer. I want to buy one.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: I told you, my name's Lou.

ABBOTT: What about Windows?

COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy in here?

ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?

COSTELLO: I don't know. What will I see when I look at the windows?

ABBOTT: Wallpaper.

COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.

ABBOTT: Software for Windows?

COSTELLO: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write proposals, track expenses and run my business. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?

ABBOTT: I just did.

COSTELLO: You just did what?

ABBOTT: Recommend something.

COSTELLO: You recommended something?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: For my office?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!

ABBOTT: I recommend Office with Windows.

COSTELLO: I already have an office with windows! OK, let's just say I'm sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need?

ABBOTT: Word.

COSTELLO: What word?

ABBOTT: Word in Office.

COSTELLO: The only word in office is office.

ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.

COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows?

ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue "W".

COSTELLO: I'm going to click your blue "w" if you don't start with some straight answers. What about financial bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: That's right. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?

ABBOTT: It comes bundled with your computer.

COSTELLO: What's bundled with my computer?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?

ABBOTT: Yes. No extra charge.

COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much?

ABBOTT: One copy.

COSTELLO: Isn't it illegal to copy money?

ABBOTT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money.

COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?

ABBOTT: Why not? THEY OWN IT!

(A few days later)

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: How do I turn my computer off?

ABBOTT: Click on "START".............

Posted by Stephen at 03:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 15, 2007

Telstra Public Service Announcement

This came into my e-mail a few days ago and I thought that Telstra would greatly appreciate the extra exposure we here at the Bleeding Edge can give them in distributing this message.

Hi everyone,

For anyone contemplating using the Sensis directory service number, 1234, DON'T!

Sensis, as you may or may not know, is a subsidiary of Telstra. The 1234 number is replacing the Telstra 12456 directory assistance number, but this time with outrageous costs attached: 40c to call the number, then 4c A SECOND!
By law, Telstra have to provide a FREE directory assistance number, because they are still majority owned by the government. They choose however not to pass this number on to the public.

What's the number?............ 1223
Thumbs up to Telstra for finding a way to charge for a service that is supposed to be provided for free.

Posted by Stephen at 01:40 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack

March 13, 2007

The Forum Spam Report

As many of you know over in the forum we had a to temporarily suspend new memberships due to the volume of spam that we were having to deal with as it simply was getting out of hand and unmanageable. We have now been re-open for regular business for around three weeks and thanks to the changes that were made in this three weeks at the time of this post the new modifications and updates have blocked 1,336 spam monkeys from registering and posting spam links, no doubt this has made us all rather happy.

Posted by Stephen at 06:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 10, 2007

Note to Self: Revisit what Blogging is about

Charles used to muse about the phenomenon of Blogging and the ways that blogs made money (or not). A recent blog comment by anontechsupt made us sit up and think about the rationale and more.

I was testing out a particular entry style - a brief one, which was intended to leave some breadcrumbs and force some musing. Obviously, it didn't work the way I intended, so, here's a more contemplative entry.

I read sometime back, that Blogging is similar to training people. You tell people what they should do, you show them quickly, you get them to do it, then you tell them again. Or words to that effect. So, a nice blog entry should start with a summary (or gist), followed by the details and completed with a summary again. Sound like too much hard work? Maybe. Formulaic? Possibly.

Does every blog entry have to be set out like that? No. I don't think so. I can see many successful blogs and blog entries that violate this guideline. And are readable and enjoyable. So, content is as much important as the structure of the writing.

Have a nice day all - it's comfortably warm outside, today in Melbourne.

Posted by Anandasim at 01:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 04, 2007

Learning Programming

You'd think that a teaching series on learning programming would jump to "Hello World" (hyperlink leads you to a Hello World tutorial enunciated with an English accent).

But no, Lesson One says:

We all know individuals who have no “common sense” yet are “book smart”, and we know others who have incredible skills for managing their personal finances but fail miserably in their relationships. We find ourselves wondering how they (and at times, ourselves) can be so inconsistent in what appears to be simple problem solving skills. The truth of the matter is that problem solving is not simple. Problem solving skills take practice and purposeful application of rules and processes to fit specific types of problems.

Talk about Wow! moments.

More: Microsoft Beginner Developer Learning Center: My Learning Path

Posted by Anandasim at 09:59 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

March 01, 2007

C'mon here boy, I've got a WOW moment to show you.

From the New York Times

Posted by Anandasim at 05:06 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack