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============== The End of Software
Not literally. Just effectively. Given where we are in the computer industry, I wouldn't fork out large sums of money for any 32-bit software at this time. Oh sure, I might pony up $15 for a shareware program that hits me just right. But not anything major.
Why? The combination of Vista and 64-bit computers. Both Intel and AMD have pretty much made the transition to 64-bit processors, but they will run 32-bit software. However, nearly all software out today is still 32-bit. You cannot run 32-bit software on 64-bit machines. So, if you buy any 32-bit software today, it will be closet-ware shortly (unless you keep your computers a lot longer than average). There may be some software that will offer both 32 and 64 bit versions, so you can upgrade when the time comes. That's OK. But there aren't many out there now and I'm not sure how many there will be.
I can hear some of you say, "What's the big deal? Processors have doubled in speed in the past, but I can keep running mine in 32-bit mode at nearly the same speed." But you can't. Here's the math: Imagine you have 32 wires in parallel and at specified intervals you send down simultaneously, either a positive or negative pulse on each (each pulse represents a clock cycle). At each pulse there will be 2 to the 32nd power or 4 gigabytes of possible combinations of positives and negatives. Switch to 64 bit and the numbers become a bit staggering. Two to the 64th power yields 17,179,869,184 gigabytes or 16 exabytes. That's not even close to a double. These numbers control how many memory locations you can have on a computer, how many registers you can have, how many data streams you can divide the information into, etc. But the potential is a fantastically greater 4,294,967,296 times as much data per clock cycle in a 64-bit OS than in a 32-bit one. It's Toto and Kansas all over again. Once you realize what is going on, you will not be happy driving your Ferrari at horse-drawn speeds.
Windows XP is already available in 64-bit configurations, Vista will be as well. Outside of Internet Explorer, Outlook Express and a couple more programs, there isn't much to run on the beasts. But that is about to change. And once the change starts, there will be no more new 32-bit software produced. It will be all 64-bit. Save your money. You're going to need it.
============== Internet Explorer Release Candidate 1
Tired of Internet Explorer 6? Tired of all the spyware it attracts? Tired of using a 6 year old browser? Give Internet Explorer 7 a try. The final version isn't out, but a Release Candidate is pretty close. I have used it and it appears to work more than adequately. If you like the tabbed web page interface of Firefox or Opera, you'll like IE7. IE7 looks far more like Firefox or Opera than it does IE6. The download site is: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.mspx
Incidentally, IE7 will be bundled with Windows Vista.
============== Tech Support Sillies
I had to call Microsoft tech support for help with a server. The tech wanted to send me an email with a long, complicated URL in it, so I said to send it to my Hotmail account -- which was easier to reach from my client's site. Besides, Hotmail is owned by Microsoft so there should be no problem. Except that it doesn't show up. Click Refresh several times. Still no go. The usual dozen or so pharmacy ads, lots of sexual advances, several hot stocks, some wonderful Rolex watches, but still nothing from tech support. There were 5 messages in the Spam folder, so after a bit, I looked in there and lo and behold, there it was. Microsoft tagged as spam their own support email and missed dozens of items you didn't have to open to know were spam. No matter how good spam filters are, they are no match for the human eye. They are much faster, but much less reliable. The biggest problem with all spam filters isn't that some spam leaks through, it's that some legitimate messages end up never being read because they were tagged as spam. If you install ANY spam filter, be sure to peruse the junk mail folder before flushing for at least a month. Even then, you'll miss some stuff.
============== Multiple Messengers
I don't know how many of you have more than one messenger account. Maybe one at AOL/AIM, Microsoft MSN, Yahoo and perhaps a couple of others. Do you have several icons in your System Tray -- one for each messenger? Take a look at Gaim: http://sourceforge.net/projects/gaim
Gaim is a cross-platform messenger (it will run on Windows and any flavor of Linux/Unix) and will access AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, MSN, Jabber, IRC, Napster, Gadu-Gadu, Zephyr, and SILC all at the same time. I don't even know what a couple of these are, but Gaim will let you use one interface to communicate with all of them you have an account with. If you are tired of the pop-up balloons all the messengers seem to throw at you, give Gaim a try even if you have only one Messenger account. It's an excellent program -- and it is an open license, freeware program.
============== Rick's Rants: The buck stops here -- or does it?
I would like to start this week with some historical trivia to set the pace for this month's rant.
The sign "The Buck Stops Here" that was on President Truman's desk in his White House office was made in the Federal Reformatory at El Reno, Okla. Fred M. Canfil, then United States marshal for the Western District of Missouri and a friend of Mr. Truman, saw a similar sign while visiting the reformatory and asked the warden if a sign like it could be made for President Truman. The sign was made and mailed to the President on Oct. 2, 1945.
Approximately 2.5 by 13 inches in size and mounted on a walnut base, the painted glass sign has the words "I'm From Missouri" on the reverse side. It appeared at different times on his desk until late in his administration.
The saying "the buck stops here" derives from the slang expression "pass the buck," which means passing the responsibility on to someone else. The latter expression is said to have originated with the game of poker, in which a marker or counter, frequently in frontier days a knife with a buckhorn handle, was used to indicate the person whose turn it was to deal. If the player did not wish to deal he could pass the responsibility by passing the "buck," as the counter came to be called, to the next player.
On more than one occasion President Truman referred to the desk sign in public statements. For example, in an address at the National War College on Dec. 19, 1952 Mr. Truman said, "You know, it's easy for the Monday morning quarterback to say what the coach should have done, after the game is over. But when the decision is up before you -- and on my desk I have a motto which says 'The Buck Stops Here' -- the decision has to be made." In his farewell address to the American people given in January 1953, President Truman referred to this concept very specifically in asserting that, "The President -- whoever he is -- has to decide. He can't pass the buck to anybody. No one else can do the deciding for him. That's his job."
Unfortunately, these days "passing the buck" seems to be the norm when you need to find answers to the problems that plague us in this digital age. I experienced this first hand and would like to share my experience of last month.
In the course of repairing PC's we find ourselves installing and repairing operating systems. One of the hurdles we have to cross is Microsoft's "Genuine Advantage." Almost every PC that is sold today has a sticker on the side displaying its "COA" or "Certificate of Authenticity" (I knew I'd misspell that word; thank God for spell checking and copy editors!) This shows for all the world to see that you have honest to goodness paid for a copy of software. Why Microsoft displays this where everyone can see it and possibly copy the number is beyond me. But, nevertheless, we use this to install the OS, usually after mistyping the code two or three times. I think those young kids at Microsoft have it in for you seniors with some cruel joke about having to read almost microscopic lettering. Mostly this goes well, but occasionally someone has actually had to use the software a second time and not necessarily on a different PC. That's when the trouble starts. Not only do you have to have a valid number but it must also be "activated" or the product will self destruct in 30 days. Occasionally it will really get an "attitude" and want to activate before you log on the computer. This means a phone call to Microsoft Product Activation to get it working. They have a fully automated voice prompt system, which I can't stand. I don't mind working with PC's all day, but I'll be damned if I'm going to start having conversations with the infernal machines. So if you wait for the second queue as to your type of product and keep your mouth shut you can press "0" and be directly transferred to a human being, albeit one located halfway across the globe in the country of India. They are generally polite and helpful, and I really do sympathize with them for having to do this repetitious nonsense for hours on end. So as I "did the duty" for a client, the young lady asked for the first six numbers. Oops, I'm ahead of myself. If your product fails automatic activation you are given a 48-digit self generated key that needs to be read to the activation machine or person. She then says "here is your key." I dutifully entered the 48 digits and immediately received a message that my "product key was invalid." The young lady said there was nothing more she could do and said I could call Microsoft Technical Support. Thus began my 3.5 hour ordeal into the twilight zone.
Determined to legally activate my client's PC, I got a Microsoft case number and waited for the support person. After I explained my issue, the young man said that it was not a Microsoft issue but a problem with HP. He explained the situation to a staff person, who would conference me in to a call to HP. After a half hour we found out the valid license on the HP was for a business computer and the young American lady, who was very sympathetic, had to transfer us to the business PC support queue. All the time my Microsoft buddy was in tow with me. I explained the situation for the fourth time to the next tech, and he replied that it wasn't HP's fault but Microsoft's. I listened as these two Indian men went back and forth in an argument as to who was to blame. Neither would budge to give me a new COA.
It was getting late, I was tired and sure to get yelled at by my wife, and I finally snapped. I basically told these guys, "You have stolen four hours of life with no results." I told them something like this was not real and what had happened was that I fell asleep and this is just a bad, bad dream. Neither of them thought it was funny as all our patience was wearing thin, and I got reprimanded for not "being professional." I finally said I can't take this anymore and hung up the phone. With my tail between my legs, I went home, knowing my misery was not over as I had a very unhappy wife who had to watch the baby all night by herself to look forward to. What a mess!
Well, the proverbial new day dawned and, with it, hope and expectation sprung anew. I went to work with renewed resolve and girded my loins for the coming battle to activate my PC.
I thought what the hell! I'm going to call in again and see what happens. This time, the young man asked for all the 48 numbers, and, lo and behold, it worked! All the time, all that effort, all that frustration, ALL FOR NOTHING! I strive for meaning to my existence and this was a huge letdown in my ego. I, Rick Smith, watched the buck get passed so many times I could have been at a hockey game, and I just stood there with my mouth open.
The moral to the story and the lesson learned is don't always believe everything that you hear, follow your instincts and better judgment and, it all else fails, sleep on it.
============== CIPCUG Notice
You don't have to be a member of CIPCUG to subscribe to this E-letter, but we do make a short notice of upcoming events.
This Saturday, September 23, our own David Harris will present a preview of Windows Vista. Here's your chance to see the operating system of the future up close and impersonal.
October 28: Corel will be here to demonstrate CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite, Corel® WordPerfect® Office, Corel Paint Shop® Pro, Corel DESIGNER® Technical Suite, Corel Painter®, and iGrafx®.
============== E-letter Notice
There will be no October E-letter as I will be traveling in China. Next issue will be November 15. Pardon this one being a day late. I have the flu and have been moving slowly.
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