Hints Tips & Rants
by Dale Atchison
Tampa Bay Computer Society


Windows Updates Update:

The last Windows Secrets® newsletter included a few paragraphs about Windows Update.  Remember last month, when I advised in this column that you should set Automatic Updates to allow you to pick and choose which updates are downloaded and installed?  Well, it now seems that Microsoft is 'force-feeding' some of the updates, ignoring user settings and giving us no choice; here's a blog post from the Microsoft forum, owning up tp the problem, but offering no fixes or suggestions of value to the average user:
http://windowssecrets.com/links/y48w918zgn4jd/946912h/?url=blogs.technet.com%2Fmu%2Farchive%2F2009%2F06%2F26%2Fupdate-notifications-and-install-at-shutdown.aspx .

The only guidance offered from Redmond is a link to this Technet page, titled Automatic Updates Policy Settings:
technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb457141.aspx
I almost understood the instructions on the page; I'll probably be able to figure it out with a few more minutes reading the page while simultaneously making potentially-destructive changes in the Administrative Tools applet in Control Panel.  Needless to say, I don't recommend this course of action to 99% of my readers.

I gotta tell you, if I didn't need to have Windows 7 installed so I could support it on my clients' machines, I wouldn't buy it, discount or not.  Microsoft has yet to learn 'user-friendly'.  And Linux is getting better by the minute.  Read on...


I Tried Out Three Linux Distros Last Month...

I downloaded ISO files for PCLinuxOS2009, Kubuntu 9, and Linux Mint 7 (or was it Mint Linux? whatever...), burned them, and ran each in the 'Live CD' mode on an old PC with a 1600 MHz processor and 256 MB of RAM.  As mentioned in this column several times in the past, I tend to defer to my friend Stew Bottorf's judgement on all things Open Source, but this time I fear we disagree:  he dumped PCLinuxOS2007 in favor of Mint Linux, whereas I think Kubuntu is simpler to use and prettier, and PCLinuxOS2009 was the easiest to install and get on the Internet with.  [I meant to end that last sentence with a preposition; don't write me about it.]

All three distros include the most recent stable Linux kernel, 2.6.[something].  Kubuntu and Mint both include KDE 4, the latest version of the K Desktop Environment; PCLinux' developers had trouble making KDE 4 behave with their distro, so it still uses KDE 3.  But PCLinux included native Linux drivers for the old Linksys USB Wireless B network adapter I was using that day.  The other two distros wanted to wrap the Windows drivers in a 'ndis wrapper'; it worked okay, but took some decision-making on my part that someone even less knowledgeable about Linux than I am might not have been up to.  (Is there anyone less Linux-savvy than I?  I can't imagine it...)

My only complaint re: PCLinux is its complete lack of time-wasting game software.  Productivity, utility, office, multimedia, it's got all that nailed, but not even one simple backgammon or mahjjong game on a 700 MB CD?  What were they thinking?  I assume, though I haven't gone so far as to check it out, that one could use the built-in Synaptic package manager to download free games from the Internet repository until the hard drive cries 'Uncle'.

I've burned additional copies of all three distros, and will have them with me at the Tuesday afternoon Novice SIG until they are all given away.
...at which time, I'll just burn some more.


I Tried Out Two New Browsers Last Month...

I finally got around to installing Google Chrome.  It is 'tres fast', if I may be so French.  But it has a glitch when you're trying to pop-up a larger version of an image:  the first pop-up on a page is tiny; but will magically grow to its correct size if you click on the link a second time.  I've told them about it, and it will probably be fixed by the time you read this.

And just for good measure, I downloaded and installed Apple's Safari browser.  OMG!  I've set it as my default browser; need I say more?  It's fast, it's secure, and it didn't make me install Quicktime (the main reason I hadn't tried it sooner, I thought it would require Quicktime, which I won't have on any computer I own).

My take on the four main browsers out there:

Internet Explorer is doing a very good job playing 'catch-up' to FireFox and Safari; it's market share ain't likely to slip significantly for a while yet.  When it's working properly, it's nearly as fast as Chrome and Safari.  I said "nearly", don't write me.  But lately, I've had recurring problems with IE slowing down for a few days, then resuming it's previous fast operation.  (Windows Update?)  ...which is why I went looking for alternatives in the first place, for myself and several clients who had complained of the same problem.

Firefox takes forever to load the first page when you start the program.  I found several suggestions on the Internet to alleviate this problem, none of them worked for me.  I hate this, as I really admire the Mozilla team for being the first to create a serious alternative to IE.  I've also had trouble getting Shockwave media to play in web pages, the plug-in wouldn't load, etc.; they may have fixed that in version 3.5, I haven't tried it yet.

Google Chrome:  TBCS has served as the de facto 'East Coast First Church of Google' since Doc first told us about it, so I'm very happy to say I love Google Chrome. If they fix the pop-up glitch mentioned above, I'll likely go back to it, just because it's a Google product.

Safari is beautiful to look at; it doesn't just fly, it zooms; it's simple to set up and use.  I still fear they're gonna try and slip Quicktime past me one night when I'm really tired and not sure what buttons I'm clicking, but I'll keep using it till I catch them trying something funny.


Sorry, Time For a Rant

As mentioned previously in this newsletter, I quit going to SIGs around this time last year because I couldn't hear the SIG leader over the cell phones, pagers, and side conversations.  Doc tells me the situation has improved significantly, and I should check them out again.  Sadly, I suspect that's mostly wishful thinking on his part.  (Although, since almost everyone reveres and appreciates Doc, maybe he gets a healthier slice of common courtesy than is shown to the rest of the SIG leaders.  And I'm not jealous of him for that, just envious.)

I'm filling in for Bill DeLucia in the Novice SIG till he comes back.  I make a huge deal out of turning off all personal electronics at the beginning of each SIG, but I've had some sort of an interruption almost every week.

To steal a line from a government official I recently heard quoted, "Come On People, It Ain't Rocket Surgery!"  When you come into a classroom situation, turn off your cell phone, and your pager; if you're bringing a laptop in with you, mute the speaker.  The volunteer leading the SIG shouldn't have to compete with you for everyone else's attention.  If you're that all-fired important, stay home.

And while we're on the subject of competing, please don't offer your opinion or answer a question posed to the SIG leader until and unless said leader admits a lack of knowledge and asks for the opinions of the group.  In other words, one conversation at a time, and that one should be led or at least moderated by the SIG leader.  And wait for break or after the SIG breaks up to start the recitation on how you've spent the past week or month; if it ain't relevant to the subject matter at hand, leave it outside.  There's a break area out by the coffee machine, in the lobby; please let the SIG continue in an orderly fashion in the SIG room, the clinic guys work in peace and quiet in the clinic, and the folks in the lab work in at least 'relative' quiet in the lab.

I feel better.


Fax Over VOIP

When using a VoIP phone system with Microsoft XP, Vista, or 7, the Microsoft Fax (or Microsoft Fax and Scan) part of Windows becomes inoperable.  I didn't know about this problem until the people at Faxback told me about it; they've just released a free software plug-in that solves it.  You can download the free plug-in at  www.faxback.com/msfax/release .

[ I don't use VOIP (yet) or Microsoft Fax, so I haven't tried this software.  I can't even swear there's really a problem, but if there is, this could be the fix for it. ]


Till next month...

DaLe aTchiSon



I send these guys a few dollars every month... sure wish you would join me.
And 100% of your labor charges go to this rescue, too.