The Den - Window Repair

This, I hope, is our last housing repair project this year: rebuild of the den window system: 2 casement windows and 1 fixed with the glass transom above. There is rot in the lower corners and the seals are broken. Scott's windows is doing the work.

First Kathee is staining and varnishing (polyurethane) the staves and the bottom sections. Above is her setup in thae garage. Staining is done ... halfway through the varnishing.... Update: Scott came on 9/28 and rebuilt and installed 3 sections.

Comment: Our house is 22 years old. We  have replaced or repaired almost every window.  The ones we have not: Dining room (there is an overhang that protects this window); Nathan's bedroom (he's been out for 16 years but we still call it his room -  the deck overhangs and protects this window);  and finally there is a small window in  the laundry room  that has some protection from the weather.

Otherwise - every other window has either been replaced or repaired. We were fortunate to have a hail storm about 12 years ago that damaged windows on  two sides and insurance paid for their replacement.

Kathee, by the way, did a super job with this project!

Dumping Windows

Google ditches Windows on security concerns

Excerpt:

Google is phasing out the internal use of Microsoft’s ubiquitous Windows operating system because of security concerns, according to several Google employees.

The directive to move to other operating systems began in earnest in January, after Google’s Chinese operations were hacked, and could effectively end the use of Windows at Google, which employs more than 10,000 workers internationally.


“We’re not doing any more Windows. It is a security effort,” said one Google employee.

“Many people have been moved away from [Windows] PCs, mostly towards Mac OS, following the China hacking attacks,” said another.

New hires are now given the option of using Apple’s Mac computers or PCs running the Linux operating system. “Linux is open source and we feel good about it,” said one employee. “Microsoft we don’t feel so good about.”

Comment: Photo credit

Windows 7 Black Screen of Death?

Windows 7 Black Screen of Death?

Excerpt:

As you're probably aware, over the last week or so Windows user of all stripes (not just Windows 7 users, as it turns out) have been complaining of a plain black screen that appears upon login -- at which point the systems locks up, and... that's it. Aside from some users getting an additional My Computer window (lucky devils) the system grinds to a halt.

Comment : Cool graphic with the above article! Also: Apple welcomes Windows 7 the only way it knows how, with a new commercial

More: ‘Black screen of death’ for some Windows users: Recent Microsoft security patch affects those using Windows 7, Vista, XP

How to fix (this looks really simple! (: )

1. Restart your PC
   
2. Logon and wait for the black screen to appear
   
3. Make sure your PC should be able to connect to the internet (black screen does not appear to affect this)
   
4. Press the CTRL, ALT and DEL keys simultaneously (AKA the Three-finger salute)
   
5. When prompted, Click Start Task Manager
   
6. In Task Manager Click on the Application Tab
   
7. Next Click New Task
   
8. Now enter the command:
   
   "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" "http://info.prevx.com/download.asp?GRAB=BLACKSCREENFIX"
   
   Note this command assumes that you are using internet explorer as your browser, if not substitute your browser path and file details for those of iexplore.exe or use the Browser option of Task manager to locate it.
   
   
9. Click OK and your browser should start up and begin the download process
   
10. When prompted for the download Click run, the black screen fix program will download and run to automatically fix the issue.
    
11. Now restart your PC and the black screen problem will hopefully be gone.

Update: I added the graphic - precious! If unfamiliar with the Blue Screen of Death click here!

XP To Windows 7: "rip and replace"

Windows 7 Debut Launches An Upgrade Debate

Excerpt:

Windows XP users represent the largest population of PC users. Unfortunately, the upgrade for this group isn't simple. The process of migrating from XP to Windows 7 is "ugly," says Steve Fox. "It's not an upgrade. It's basically XP To Windows 7." Here's why: You'd have to back up your hard drive, reformat it, install Windows 7 and then restore all of your personal files and your application software. The other option, says Jeff Fox of Consumer Reports, would be expensive because you'd have to upgrade to Vista first and then to Windows 7.

"One of the missteps with Windows 7 [is that] the upgrade process for those who skipped Vista — which is most of the world — is pretty tortuous," says Carl Howe of Yankee Group. "And I think that's going to put a damper on Windows 7 sales."

Comment: The upgrade from MAC OS Tiger to Leopard to Snow Leopard was EZ. Glad I am on a Mac

More Windows worms & "lax security practices"

Worm Infects Millions of Computers Worldwide

Excerpt:

A new digital plague has hit the Internet, infecting millions of personal and business computers in what seems to be the first step of a multistage attack. The world’s leading computer security experts do not yet know who programmed the infection, or what the next stage will be.

In recent weeks a worm, a malicious software program, has swept through corporate, educational and public computer networks around the world. Known as Conficker or Downadup, it is spread by a recently discovered Microsoft Windows vulnerability, by guessing network passwords and by hand-carried consumer gadgets like USB keys.

Experts say it is the worst infection since the Slammer worm exploded through the Internet in January 2003, and it may have infected as many as nine million personal computers around the world.

Worms like Conficker not only ricochet around the Internet at lightning speed, they harness infected computers into unified systems called botnets, which can then accept programming instructions from their clandestine masters. “If you’re looking for a digital Pearl Harbor, we now have the Japanese ships steaming toward us on the horizon,” said Rick Wesson, chief executive of Support Intelligence, a computer security consulting firm based in San Francisco.

Many computer users may not notice that their machines have been infected, and computer security researchers said they were waiting for the instructions to materialize, to determine what impact the botnet will have on PC users. It might operate in the background, using the infected computer to send spam or infect other computers, or it might steal the PC user’s personal information.

“I don’t know why people aren’t more afraid of these programs,” said Merrick L. Furst, a computer scientist at Georgia Tech. “This is like having a mole in your organization that can do things like send out any information it finds on machines it infects.”

Microsoft rushed an emergency patch to defend the Windows operating systems against this vulnerability in October, yet the worm has continued to spread even as the level of warnings has grown in recent weeks.

Earlier this week, security researchers at Qualys, a Silicon Valley security firm, estimated that about 30 percent of Windows-based computers attached to the Internet remain vulnerable to infection because they have not been updated with the patch, despite the fact that it was made available in October. The firm’s estimate is based on a survey of nine million Internet addresses.

Security researchers said the success of Conficker was due in part to lax security practices by both companies and individuals, who frequently do not immediately install updates.

Comment: Corporate Network security is probably completely on top of this. If you have a Windows PC ... make sure all patches are in place and that you have antivirus software (current) in place.

XP still lives

The Afterlife of Windows XP

Excerpt:

Microsoft officially stopped selling the Windows XP system software to major computer manufacturers on June 30. But the company plans to continue support for consumer versions of Windows XP until April 14, 2009, and extended support for business and developer Windows XP software until April 8, 2014

Comment: A major financial services company, with which I have some knowledge, is still imaging new workstations with XP. And will for some time!

Workers want Macs

Consumers driving demand for Macs at work

Excerpt:

Soon after Michele Goins became chief information officer at Juniper Networks in February, she decided to respond to the growing chorus of Mac lovers among the networking company's 6,100 employees. For years, many had used Apple's computers at home and clamored for them in the office as well. So she launched a test, letting 600 Juniper staffers use Macs instead of the standard-issue PCs that run Microsoft's Windows operating system. As long as the extra support costs aren't too high, she plans to open the floodgates. "If we opened it up today, I think 25 percent of our employees would choose Macs," she says.

Funny thing is, she has never received a single sales call from Apple. While thousands of other companies scratch and claw for the tiniest sliver of the corporate computing market, Apple treats this vast market with utter indifference. After a series of failed offensives by the company in the 1980s and 1990s, Chief Executive Steve Jobs decided to focus squarely on consumers and education customers when he returned to Apple in 1997. As a result, the company doesn't have ranks of corporate salespeople or armies of repairmen waiting to respond every time a hard drive fails. Nothing that could divert his minions from staying focused on Apple's core calling: creating the next cool thing for the world's consumers.


Comment: What's holding Macs back? In my opinion:

1. The existing support structure inside large corporations is Windows based: Engineers, technicians, desktop support help desks. There is a large base of workers that would need to be cross trained.
   
2. Support for multiple platforms grows exponentially not linearly. Eg: 2 platforms takes 4 times as much support. This holds the Mac back and Linux.
   
3. The interoperability issues (particularly around office documents and email) make the hybrid Mac / Windows office problematic.
   
4. Outlook (Windows) is stronger than the native Mac "Mail". And Outlook is more robust that the Entourage (Microsoft/MAC) mail client.
   
5. Office 2008 (Mac) does not have an Access counterpart (Office 2007). Many don't use Access, but in my company everyone (at least in technology) has it.
   
6. While on can run Windows on a Mac ... if you want to run Windows, it is less expensive to buy a native Windows (Dell, Lenovo, HP, etc) machine.
   
7. Windows workstations are heavily discounted in the corporate environment. Even an ordinary consumer can buy a Windows PC for perhaps half of what a Mac will cost.
   

If I were a small businessman outfitting a new office, I would go with Mac!

Desktop evolution

Windows / Mac comparison

Comment: Interesting graphic comparing / contrasting Windows and Mac from Windows 95 to current. The reader comments are also interesting.

Not shown: KDE or GNOME (for Linux).

Personally, I like the XP desktop best.