PuterGeek.Com News
Issue # 57
ISSN: 1533-1938
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PuterGeek.Com News: ISSN: 1533-1938
Hello from Phoenix, AZ!
Amy and I have been quite busy on the road, dodging the snow, and trying to keep our truck alive. It seems like every time we get into a good rhythm on the road it seems that our repair
list starts to grow.
Right now it's time to rebuild the "Horton clutch fan" (the engine fan), the "steer" (front) tires are about due to be replaced, it's time to run the "overhead" (adjust valves etc....), my
windshield needs to be replaced (rock pits), and the clock in the bunk died! Yes, the small things like the clock tend to bug me :-)
These are all *normal* repairs...when you drive 20,000+ miles per month there's always something on the list. Since we have our own mechanic at the yard, it's more cost effective to do the
work at home.
() Life On The Road
I've started work on a new section called "Life On The Road". Depending on my work schedule, I hope to have it up by mid-March. Since Amy and I drive truck long-haul (over the road)
many people have expressed interest on what driving an 18 wheeler is like, how life is on the road, what we think of four-wheelers (car drivers), and stuff like that.
() Website stuff
I need your help! I am not an artist, not even close! If any of you like to make images/graphics I have a favor to ask. I need a button for PuterGeek.Com. It must be in
GIF format and the size must be 88x31. This will be a new link button for people to use. I want something that will be easily recognizable to people.
A great example of what I'm looking for is on the Lockergnome website
http://www.lockergnome.com/ Please take a look around Putergeek.Com to
see what colors I use and go to
http://www.putergeek.com/link_to_me/ to see what I have so far. I can't offer anything for your work but
my thanks and credit for your work on the website.
Please email your buttons to me at
webmaster@putergeek.com with the subject line of "New Button". My goal is to get lots of sites to put
the button on their website to draw more traffic to Putergeek.Com. So please start sending them in!
Howie uses his great sense of humor and slightly skewed writing style to show us more reasons why we love to hate our 'puters.
Need another reason to get mad at your 'puter? Take a look, Amy has listed some of her ..err.. favorite reasons to hate her 'puter :-)
It's time to send some (nice) email to Amy, telling her to write some more web pages. If you like her writing style drop her a note and tell her. She needs a kick in the butt
:-) ... Of course, when she reads this, I'll probably get a kick too...hehe
There's a new Poll up. What do you think about Napster? Is it great? Does it give the internet a bad name? let me know...
Thanks to all of you who have become PuterGeek.Com Sponsors!
() Now on with the good stuff!
The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at
the right time; but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting
moment.
A man calls home to his wife and says,
"Honey I have been asked to go fishing at a big lake up in
Canada with my boss and several of his friends.
We'll be gone for a week.
This is a good opportunity for me to get that promotion
I've been wanting so would you please pack me enough clothes
for a week and set out my rod and tackle box.
We're leaving from the office and will swing by the house to
pick my things up. Oh please pack my new blue silk pajamas."
The wife thinks this sounds a little fishy but being a good
wife she does exactly what her husband asked. The following
weekend he comes home a little tired but otherwise looking good.
The wife welcomes him home and asks if he caught many fish.
He says "Yes lot of Walleye, some Blugill, and a few Pike.
But why didn't you pack my new blue silk pajamas like I asked you to
do?"
The wife replies. "I did. They were in your tacklebox!"
I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do
is stalk them and hope they panic and give in.
T-shirt Slogans
"Frankly, Scallop, I Don't Give a Clam" - seen on Cape Cod
'That's It! I'm Calling Grandma!" - (seen on an 8 year old)
"Wrinkled Was Not One of the Things I Wanted to Be When I Grew Up"
"Procrastinate Now"
"Rehab Is for Quitters"
"My Dog Can Lick Anyone"
"I Have a Degree in Liberal Arts-Do You Want Fries With That?"
"Party - My Crib - Two A.M." (On a baby-size shirt)
"Finally 21, and Legally Able to Do Everything I've Been Doing
Since 15"
"ALL MEN ARE IDIOTS, AND I MARRIED THEIR KING"
"West Virginia: One Million People, and 15 last names"
"FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION. It comes bundled with the software."
"I'M OUT OF ESTROGEN AND I'VE GOT A GUN"
"A hangover is the wrath of grapes"
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance"
"STUPIDITY IS NOT A HANDICAP. Park elsewhere!"
"DISCOURAGE INBREEDING - Ban Country Music"
"They call it "PMS" because "Mad Cow Disease" was already taken"
"He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless dead"
"Time's fun when you're having flies.......Kermit the Frog"
"POLICE STATION TOILET STOLEN .... Cops have nothing to go on."
"FOR SALE-Iraqi rifle. Never fired. Dropped once."
"A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS But it uses up a thousand
times the memory."
"The Meek shall inherit the earth....after we're through with it."
"HAM AND EGGS: A day's work for a chicken; A lifetime commitment
for a pig."
"WELCOME TO KENTUCKY - Set your watch back 20 years."
"The trouble with life is there's no background music."
"IF THERE IS NO GOD, WHO POPS UP THE NEXT KLEENEX?"
"Suicidal Twin Kills Sister By Mistake!"
"The original point and click interface was a Smith & Wesson."
"MY WILD OATS HAVE TURNED TO SHREDDED WHEAT"
"MOP AND GLOW: Floor wax used by Three Mile Island cleanup team."
NyQuil -The stuffy, sneezy, why-the-hell-is-the-room-spinning
medicine."
"Quoting one is plagiarism, Quoting many is research."
" My husband and I divorced over religious differences. He thought
he was God and I didn't
VEGETARIAN: Primitive word which means "lousy hunter".
At Tampa's Turnstiles, Crowd Wasn't Faceless
----------------------------------------------------------------
"Super Bowl fans never knew it, but police video cameras focused on their
faces, one by one, as they streamed through the turnstiles in Tampa on
Sunday. Cables instantly carried the images to computers, which spent less
than a second comparing them with thousands of digital portraits of known
criminals and suspected terrorists.
In a control booth deep inside the stadium, police watched and waited for a
match.
The extraordinary test of technology during the highest-profile US sporting
event of the year yielded one hit, a ticket scalper who vanished into the
crowd, reported an official at the company that installed the cameras.
But the decision to scan the unwitting crowd at the Super Bowl and countless
visitors to the popular entertainment district of Ybor City for days before
the big game inspired support and opposition Wednesday over the nature of
the technology and its intended uses."
I'm sure you've all heard about this and what the decision of the Appellate
Court was, but if not, here are some articles about it:
LIFE AFTER NAPSTER
http://www.nypost.com/technology/23749.htm
Napster Ruling Irks Students
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/02/13
/BU39375.DTL
Music swapping won't end with ruling
http://www.freep.com/money/tech/newman13_20010213.htm
Victory or defeat?
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2001/02/12/napster_reactions/index.html
Bertelsmann Sees Free Online Music Services Dying
http://news.excite.com/news/r/010213/09/net-napster-bertelsmann-dc
TIME TO TELL 'EM WHICH SIDE YOU'RE ON
http://www.nypost.com/technology/23744.htm
Napster May Pay Dearly for This
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,41757,00.html
Musicians Play a Hopeful Tune
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,41770,00.html
Congress Sits Back and Listens
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,41766,00.html
Napster ruling angers fans, pleases artists
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20010213/3062376s.htm
Napster rivals see opportunity in court ruling
http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/01/02/13/010213hnnapriv.xml
Switching Between Windows
----------------------------------------------------------------
No matter how many times these tips are shared, there are always people who
have never heard of it.
If you have a lot of Windows open, it is possible that you can't read the
Window name in the taskbar (they are squished up when there are a lot of
programs open on the taskbar). Here are 2 ways to get around:
1) If you press Alt and Tab together, a small Window will appear and you can
browse through the list and choose the program you want.
2) If you press Alt and Esc together, then you will rotate through the open
Windows without seeing the little Window.
(NOTE: I forgot about ALT+ESC - Peter)
A few tips submitted by Judy Vancleef:
Flies or bees bothering you? Spray them with hairspray
and they will take a quick dive.
Sealed envelope - Put in the freezer for a few hours,
then slide a knife under the flap. The envelope can
then be resealed.
Use Empty toilet paper roll to store appliance cords.
It keeps them neat and you can write on the roll what
appliance it belongs to.
For icy door steps in freezing temperatures: get warm
water and put Dawn dishwashing liquid in it. Pour it
all over the steps. They won't refreeze.
Crayon marks on walls? This worked wonderfully! A damp
rag, dipped in baking soda. Comes off with little
effort (elbow grease that is!).
Permanent marker on appliances/counter tops (like
store receipt BLUE!) rubbing alcohol on paper towel.
Whenever I purchase a box of S.O.S Pads, I immediately
take a pair of scissors and cut each pad into halves.
After years of having to throw away rusted and unused
and smelly pads, I finally decided that this would be
much more economical. And now a box of S.O.S pads last
me indefinitely! In fact, I have noticed that the
scissors get sharpened this way!
Opening brand new jars can be a feat in itself. Well,
I have found a way to make it the easiest thing to do.
Instead of banging a jar of jam, pickles, etc., with a
knife until it loosens up, I simply reach into he
drawer and pull out the handy nutcracker. It adjusts
to the size of the jar and I simply give it a good
twist and off pops the lid!
Blood stains on clothes? Not to worry! Just pour a
little peroxide on a cloth and proceed to wipe off
every drop of blood. Works ever time!
Washing Windows: Use vertical strokes when washing
windows outside and horizontal for inside windows.
This way you can tell which side has the streaks.
Straight vinegar will get outside windows really
clean. Don't wash windows on a sunny day. They will
dry too quickly and will probably streak.
Spray a bit of perfume on the light bulb in any room
to create a lovely light scent in each room when the
light is turned on.
Place fabric softener sheets in dresser drawers and
your clothes will smell freshly washed for weeks to
come. You can also do this with towels and linen.
Candles will last a lot longer if placed in the
freezer for at least 3 hours prior to burning.
To clean artificial flowers, pour some salt into a
paper bag and add the flowers. Shake vigorously as the
salt will absorb all the dust and dirt and leave your
artificial flowers looking like new! Works like A
charm!
Thanks To Ed Bott
Sometimes you want to print just part of a Web page,
but clicking the Print button spits out page after
page of information you don't want or need. If you use
Internet Explorer 5,0 or later, here's an easy
solution:
First, use your mouse to select the text you want to
print.
Next, choose File, Print (don't use the Print
button!). In the Print dialog box, look for the area
labeled Page Range and choose the Selection option.
I'm on a crusade to encourage every Windows user to
remove the Print button from the Internet Explorer
toolbar. Why? Because more often than not, clicking
the Print button causes you to waste paper by printing
out page after page of useless information!
Right-click on the IE toolbar and choose Customize
from the shortcut menu. Find the Print button in the
Current Toolbar Buttons list, select it, and then
click the Remove button. Click Close to make the
change effective.
To print Web pages, press the keyboard shortcut
Ctrl+P, or use the Print option on the File menu.
Either way, you'll get the Print dialog box, where you
can choose which pages you want to print. If you use
IE 5.5 or later, you can see a preview of the printed
pages before you send the job to the printer.
** Just a Reminder**
Want to say Thank You to the PuterGeek? Just point your web browser
me. Info on how to become a PuterGeek.Com Sponsor can be found
here as well.
NEW VIRTUAL TOUR OF XBOX
Visit the Xbox(tm) web site to see the new virtual console tour. Designed to capture the power and performance that Xbox will deliver, the console and controller is based on the input of more
than 5,000 gamers and games creators from around the world.
http://www.microsoft.com/insider/mi/pfxconsole.htm
Challenge Bill Gates in the MSN MoneyCentral(tm) Market Challenge. Pick four stocks, and see if they beat Bill Gates' picks at the end of the week - you could score $5000! Each time you enter,
Microsoft will make a donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.
http://www.microsoft.com/insider/mi/pfbillg.htm
HOME NETWORKING MADE EASY
Networking you home computers is a great way to share resources such as a printer, or to play online games. This in-depth article takes you through each step of the process and will get you
hooked up in no time.
http://www.microsoft.com/insider/mi/pfhomenet2.htm (NOTE: gee, who writes a better page :-) - Peter)
Bill Gates: Prince of Liechtenstein?
Liechtenstein's Prince Hans-Adam II, in a fit of anger at the country's
cabinet and parliament over the sharing of power between democratic and
monarchist elements, threatened the people to sell the role of Prince "to
Bill Gates or anyone else who can afford it" and leave the country. Wait a
minute. That's not a bad idea! Bill: Imagine being prince of a country
with a shady banking system, well-educated workers (albeit fewer than
32,000 of them) and no justice department! You could run Microsoft out of
Vaduz Castle and even establish an army to enforce global software piracy
laws!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=003864436460684&rtmo=lvQw77zt&atmo=rrrrrrrq&pg=/et/01/2/11/wlich11.html
Blue Screens of Death In Space
Every time the space shuttle goes into orbit with some new chunk of the
International Space Station, I'm tempted to write an impassioned piece
about how magnificent it all is. I mean, it's truly incredible that NASA,
and the foreign space agencies that work with NASA, actually pull this
off. They shoot this airplane-shaped rocket into orbit, catch up to the
space station, actually go outside with wrenches and do construction in
zero G's. A couple weeks later, they drop into the atmosphere and, after
turning the shuttle into a giant, 3,000-degree ball of flames from the air
friction, land it like a 727 coming into LaGuardia. Every single mission
seems like the greatest thing mankind has ever accomplished. Each time the
Space Shuttle goes up, I tune in compulsively to "NASA TV," which
broadcasts live coverage of all the Shuttle activities -- including live
footage from the helmet-cams of space-walking astronauts. Well, I did that
on the evening of February 7th, which is the day the Space Shuttle
Atlantis went into orbit with the Destiny Space Lab Module. I was
listening to the chatter between the shuttle and Houston ground control,
and heard that it was entirely about some errant Windows application on a
shuttle laptop. I didn't record the conversation, or write it down. But it
went something like this: "Houston, this is Atlantis. We have a blue
screen -- repeat, blue screen -- over." "Uh, copy that, Atlantis. We
recommend pressing Control, Alt, then Delete." "Roger, Houston. We have a
reboot.... Uh, negative, Houston, we have another blue screen, over." "Uh,
copy that, Atlantis. Please stand by." "Atlantis, engineers on the ground
recommend rebooting again, this time holding the F1 key, over." This went
on for an hour. Amazing. The fact that NASA is using commercial laptops
and suffering the same Windows-related maladies that you and I do, the
whole feat seems even more heroic and difficult.
http://www.broadcast.com/learning_and_education/science/space/nasa/nasa_television/
Be the 'Big Brother' of Your Family
A software company called SpectorSoft makes "spyware," and markets it for
spying on your spouse, children and employees. One product, called
Spector, takes "snapshots" of a computer screen as frequently as every
second. Later, you can look at the screens to find out what your loved
ones have been doing. Another product called eBlaster sends to you via
e-mail "activity reports," including web sites visited, applications
launched and keystrokes typed.
http://www.spectorsoft.com/
Proof You Can Buy Anything On the Internet
Why wait? Order your coffin now, and enjoy it while you can. Here's a
company that demonstrates a hundred and one things you can do with your
coffin while you're still breathing.
http://www.yourcoffin.com/
What's The Best Email Client?
Microsoft's Outlook Express is among the world's most-used email
client applications, mainly because it's distributed free. It's a
reasonably capable client, and can handle multiple email accounts,
newsgroup activity and directory services. It even includes a
lightweight contact list.
But it's also limited in ways that range from the annoying--- such as
a mandatory, always-visible ad-bar--- to the serious--- such as
various security problems. OE also is confusing to some: For example,
its mail folders are buried in a nonobvious part of the Windows
directory tree where the uninitiated may fail to include them in
backups. And some elements of OE's operation (such as the purging of
old messages and the compression of mail folders) make it easy to
waste inordinate amounts of disk space, and/or to retain copies of
messages you thought had been deleted long ago.
In other issues we discussed sites that can help you track down,
identify, and resolve some of the problems with OE. One such help
site:
http://www.tomsterdam.com
And I talked about Eudora, my personal choice for an email client.
It's powerful, flexible, and resistant to many of the security issues
that plague some other email clients. On the other hand, with each
release, Eudora gets bigger and more resource-hungry. In fact, Eudora
is a pig. A nice pig--- but still a pig.
As we discussed all the above across several issues, many, many of
you wrote in with your own suggestions and recommendations for great
email clients. When I realized how many I was getting, I started
sorting and collating them, and now have boiled the list down to the
10 most reader-recommended email clients---email apps that real
people (your fellow readers) have used and found to be good.
That list--- with descriptions in the words of the readers who made
the recommendations--- is the core of the new Explorer column due to
go live on the WinMag site today, midday (2001-02-12; UT-5).
Please click on over and check out your fellow readers'
recommendations. You just might find a new email client that puts
your current one to shame!
Double Protection Better Than Single?
With protective technologies like firewalls and anti-virus software,
you might think that having multiple layers of defense would be
better than having only one. For example, reader Paul S. Treuhaft
asked :
I have a very basic question I've never seen you address on
the subject of firewalls. I have net access through a cable
modem, and a little home network managed through a LinkSys
Etherfast Cable Modem / DSL router. LinkSys, in their
literature, implies that the router itself serves as a
firewall, and I get the impression that they think
additional protection is not necessary. What do you think?
(Incidentally, I'm a big fan of the new Plus! edition. I've
learned more from you about what's going on with my
computer than from any other single source. Thanks!)
You're welcome. <g>
I also have a router (actually, it's a Network Address Translator
running on a old PC that I use as an access server; but it's the same
idea). Although the NAT is theoretically capable of providing a high
degree of online anonymity and security, I still use Zonealarm on my
desktop machine.
You see, you can't be sure that any single product will counter all
threats or be running flawlessly all the time, so a multi-layered
defense can increase your security: One protective technology can
backstop another.
But there's a big "if:" Multiple layers of defense are better than
single layers *IF* they don't interfere with each other.
In the case of external routers, servers, NATs, firewalls, etc.,
they'll rarely interfere with those that reside locally on your own
PC: Because they can coexist well, they can work together to provide
more security than either could alone.
But if you add multiple firewalls, intrusion monitors, etc., on the
*same* PC, you can run into trouble because the apps compete to "own"
the processes they're designed to monitor.
Antivirus tools work the same way: External, centrally-installed
server-based antivirus tools can coexist well with locally-installed,
PC-based AV tools: They can buttress each other.
But you usually CANNOT install multiple AV tools on the same PC: They
end up stepping on each other's toes and interfering with each other.
So there's no single Yes or No answer to this: It's conditional,
based on whether or not the additional products can work without
interference. If they can coexist, then the extra security is a good
thing.
(By the way: Long-time readers may recall that we've previously
covered how to add multi-layered, non-interfering defenses to your
PC's online setup, making it all but immune to external threats. If
you missed that discussion, see
http://www.winmag.com/columns/explorer/2000/07.htm .)
What's The Best Email Client?
Writing from India, Oswald Rajesh says:
I've found this utility very useful in backing up the
Outlook Express Messages and I just want to share this info
to my fellow readers. It's called Express Assist 2000, which
can be downloaded from
http://www.ajsystems.com/
Express assistant is trialware: you can use it for a while for free,
but you're expected to pay the $30 fee if you keep it. The same site
offers other tools, too, for managing the full version of Outlook (not
just the Express version); and Eudora, as well.
And speaking of Eudora, reader Randal Stevens offers this free tip:
I have been using [Eudora] for years and can't be more
pleased with it. Here is a trick that I learned a while back
to get rid of the splash screen, just edit the *.ini file in
the Eudora directory. Add the line
NoSplashScreen=1
Restart the program and you'll never see it again.
Thanks, Randall and Oswald!
P2P's Dark Side
Several issues ago (
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-02-08.htm#1 )
, we discussed how Juno--- the giant ISP with 14 million
subscribers--- is mandating that its users join a stealthy P2P ("peer
to peer") network: Juno will quietly connect its subscribers'
computers as an ad-hoc distributed computing network. Then, someone
with a large computational problem can contract with Juno, which will
divvy up the large problem into smaller chunks and feed it into its
subscribers' PCs which will execute this external code and send the
results of the computations back to Juno. The process then repeats.
On the surface, it's a fairly standard implementation of P2P
technology. But the tech's not the problem: It's the implementation.
In effect, Juno says that you must give them the right to use your PC
for whatever purposes they choose, when they choose. You have no
rights to what they do with or on your PC. You can't even try to find
out what Juno's doing. You must perform these forced services at your
own risk and expense: You must keep your PC on at all times in order
to run Juno's calculations; if you don't leave your PC on--- say you
want to perform system maintenance or just save some energy--- Juno
can cancel your account. You pay for the call (if needed) to send in
the results; and if Juno's software crashes your PC and eats your
data, well, tough luck. And worst of all, the whole scheme is being
done quietly, in a way most Juno users may not even be aware of.
That's about where we left it when last we touched upon this topic.
But the more I thought about it, the more it bugged me. When I did
some additional digging, I came to the alarming conclusion that Juno
is probably just the first of many companies that will try to grab a
little (or not so little) piece of your system.
Soon--- very soon--- you may be at risk every time you download any
software, music or videos; install any drivers or upgrade any
programs; or even just connect to any ISP in the future.
Think I'm kidding? Click on over to the "Monitor" at Byte.Com: My new
column there (scheduled to go live today, Feb 26) goes over the ideas
behind P2P networking, the first big P2P successes (such as
SETI@Home), the first major P2P problems (such as the Napster mess),
and how Juno fits in as a possible harbinger of a dark future.
The column should be available via Byte's home page at
http://www.byte.com/ or by clicking directly to the Monitor index at
http://www.byte.com/index/monitor . Please check it out, and then
follow the links at the end of the article to post your thoughts. Is
Juno's power-grab a case of one, or--- as I believe--- is this
something we'll see a lot more of in the future?
MICROSOFT'S NEW XP ANTI-PIRACY MEASURE
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Get ready, because power users everywhere are probably not going
to like this. Microsoft is instituting another Windows anti-piracy
measure debuting in Windows XP.
Make no mistake, Microsoft has every legal right, and
arguably every ethical right, to institute piracy-protection
mechanisms. In fact, the drubbing Microsoft has taken at the hands
of the judicial system may be part of what's driving the software
giant toward this scenario. (Well, that and falling unit sales.)
But in a world where Windows' nearest, if distant, competition --
Linux -- is 100-percent free to download, it's getting harder to
stomach Microsoft's moves toward protectionism.
Microsoft calls the new piracy-prevention measure "Microsoft
Product Activation." The technology isn't showing up only in
Windows XP, but will also be in Office XP and Visio. According to
Microsoft, Product Activation "is designed to reduce casual
copying." But near as I can tell without being able to test it
yet, what it really means is that you'll only be able to install
any new copy of Windows on one PC. Not one PC at a time. One PC
ever.
Product Activation also requires you to either to connect to
Microsoft's servers via the Internet shortly after you install
Windows or to make a phone call to Microsoft to get the proper ID
code. If you don't do one of those two things within 30 days,
Windows XP will become inoperable until you do. (Note: Office XP
and Visio will permit 50 program launches before they clamp down.)
Longtime readers may recall that Windows Insider was among
the first publications to break the news that Microsoft and its
major OEM PC customer companies would be issuing new Windows PCs
whose instance of Windows would be specifically tied to a coded
indentifier in the BIOS of that machine. That technology is
generally known as "BIOS locking."
That came to pass about a year ago, with surprisingly little
public outcry (I think resistance or public outcry would be a
better word here - pushback sounds like an insider marketing term)
from end-users. Microsoft said little to the press about it, and
the whole thing has been largely ignored. That was phase one of
Microsoft's attack on software piracy. Product Activation is phase
two, and it targets the second of Microsoft's three main
distribution points for Windows: Copies of Windows purchased from
retail stores and online catalogs, or the retail channel. The
third distribution point is direct corporate sales of Windows.
Apparently, Product Activation will be in vogue on copies of
Windows sold in all three channels, but when you buy a new PC from
a major PC maker, Windows XP will be pre-activated. It's unclear
to me at press time how enterprise versions of Windows XP might
differ.
Product Activation works by checking to see whether the PC
it's installed on is the same PC for which that copy was
originally activated. If Windows finds that it's not installed on
the same PC, it will deactivate -- meaning that you won't be able
to boot your PC into anything but a window that asks you to insert
the proper activation ID code. How does it know it's on the same
PC? It detects your hardware configuration, and uses that as a
sort of identification mechanism, something like a simple
fingerprint. Microsoft says it's a completely anonymous process --
presumably because this identifying information is stored
somewhere in Windows and not sent to Microsoft's servers. Also, it
says that the hard drive's contents will not be scanned.
According to Microsoft, Product Activation is able to handle
Windows reinstallation, drive reformatting, and lesser hardware
upgrades. But with larger modifications to a PC -- and I'm
assuming the company means motherboard replacements, CPU upgrades,
and perhaps BIOS updates -- "reactivation will likely be
required." A FAQ on the Microsoft Web site, also implies that in
the event a reactivation is required, you might only be able to do
that by telephone:
The truth is, Product Activation, like Windows XP, is in late
beta, and some parts of it are still being hammered out, and still
being explained internally at Microsoft. The only thing that's
truly clear to me at this juncture is that I don't know all the
facts yet on Product Activation.
No matter how the technology actually works in the shipping
code, the crux of the issue is something that's been part of
Microsoft's End-User License Agreement (or EULA, for short) for
years. Most software companies license their software for use by
one user; Microsoft chose to license Windows (and its other
software) for use on one PC. I doubt most people have ever been
aware of that. Legally, you are not allowed to buy one copy of
Office or Windows and install it on two PCs, even if you were the
only person using both PCs.
But as I currently understand it, Product Activation goes a
step further. What if you own a PC with Windows XP on it, and you
decide to wipe the hard drive of that PC so it has no working copy
of Windows. Next you build your own PC and want to install that
same copy of Windows XP on your new PC. It doesn't look like
you're going to be able to do that. Microsoft isn't only mandating
one copy of Windows for one PC. It's mandating a specific PC --
the first one you installed the copy of Windows on.
You can be sure that Product Activation is going to spawn a
cottage industry of illegal product ID codes and pirated and
resold copies of Windows XP. In fact, my guess is that sort of
thing will see a manifold increase in the U.S., where software
piracy is less prevalent than in other countries. Old timers like
me will remember what it was like in the early '80s when most PC
software had really terrible copy-protection measures.
I fully support Microsoft's desire to protect itself from
rampant software piracy for profit, and even from casual piracy
among friends. It spends millions of dollars on R&D,
manufacturing, and distribution of its products. It patently
deserves to profit from that investment.
But I flatly disagree with the basic premise Microsoft's
EULA, that the license is extended per-machine instead of per-
person. And it's preposterous that the company is about to enforce
this legality with an automatic disablement feature. It's a
precedent I believe Microsoft will someday regret.
For more on Product Activation, see Microsoft's Feb. 2, 2001 press
release on the subject:
Milestones
Microsoft introduced today the first artificial intelligence (A.I.)
application developed in its multi-billion dollar research program.
The beta launch of the Microsoft Outlook Mobile Manager took place at
the Demo 2001 show Monday. The product is combination Exchange Server
and desktop application. You tell the desktop app what e-mail you
want forwarded to your mobile phone, handheld computer or pager, and
the server software uses A.I. to figure out which messages should be
forwarded and how they should be prioritized using what Microsoft
calls "automated learning." If you're using Outlook with Exchange
Server, you can try it the beta free. The product also uses a feature
called "Intellishrink." No, it's not a software psychiatrist, but a
text-compression system that removes spaces, punctuation and vowels
before sending to a phone, allowing more of the message -- albeit a
truncated version -- to appear on limited-text devices.
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2001/Feb01/02-12MOMMPR.asp
Live Journals
Unearthed by a Lockergnomie
{Keep a Web journal} I find it amazing how some people can become so famous that their private letters and correspondence can be published in book form and sell millions of copies. Who knows,
maybe someday all of my personal e-mail will be printed in leather- bound hardcover. Chapter One: "Gretchen, Did You Remember To Turn The Stove Off?" Well... maybe not. At least I have the option of
keeping an e-journal through this site -- no HTML experience needed. Add an entry whenever you desire via the Web or through software tailored for the service. Share your amazing life with everyone.
But be warned: this is real life. Anything goes.
Reg Cleaner v4.0.0.744 [486k] W9x FREE
{Tidy up your system files} Another registry cleaner... so what's the big deal? Hey, have I ever let you down? Okay, not counting that ONE time. Mr. Reg will clean out those registry entries
left behind by the software of yesteryear (or yestermonth, for that matter). The difference, though, is that instead of just zapping registry keys left and right, this one gives a list and allows you
to select which ones you no longer need. Eh? "I uninstalled that program ages ago... ZAP." The program also features automatic backup and an uninstall functions. My registry has never been so clean.
It could use a few curtains, though. But that's another binary.
The Essential Unix / Linux Reference
"My friend got a great Unix reference the other day -- a $14 buy from one of those 'up to 80% off' computer discount bins. No matter how hard I looked, though, I couldn't find one worth buying
second hand. Rather than spend the fifty bucks on a new Unix / Linux command reference, I decided to create my own: an edited and compiled version of the almighty manpages for 39 of the most used
(and useful) Unix / Linux commands. Topics include: awk, bc, chgrp, chmod, chown, cp, cron, csh, cut, date, df, diff, env, expr, find, grep, kill, et al."
() That's all for now!
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Last Revised: 02/27/2001
