Let's see, what's new?

Well, Windows 7 is landing with a big splash. It hasn't even been released yet and already the NSW Dept of Education is installing it on student laptops. Not surprisingly, the students are liking it. It's actually quite good. I've had Windows 7 loaded up on my iMac with Bootcamp for a while now and it seems to work really well. It doesn't deliberately go out of it's way to piss me off like Vista did, although it has still inherited many of the classic faults of the Windows Operating System.

By loading up Windows 7 on my computer I agreed to a non-disclosure agreement which prevents me from discussing my Windows 7 experience with anyone but Microsoft, which is why I haven't blogged for a while. So I'm not going to tell you any more about it - except that it's the best Windows OS I've ever used and is easily as good (in terms of OS features, security and ease-of-use) as the previous version of Mac OS.

If you want to try out Windows 7 visit the official Microsoft Download page and you can try it for free until July 2010. You'll need a "Microsoft Account" to acces it. A Hotmail/Live/MSN account... y'know, one of those... if you use Microsoft/MSN/Windows/Live Messenger, that's the account you'll need. I wish they'd just settle on one branding!

Look out! Here comes another one! Bing!

This picture is an accurate representation of what Google has done to Microsoft's previous forays into online search. Google is so successful at online search that the two words are interchangeable. People don't search for something anymore, they Google it.

If we can give Microsoft credit for anything though, it's that they just don't give up. Enter Bing, Microsoft's latest brand sporting an uncharacteristically creative name which they hope will be the search engine of choice for Netizens of the future. I reckon Google are already preparing the backswing for this one.

Seventy percent Mac

Figures released in an article from Apple Watch have reported that although only 14% of all computers sold through retail channels during the first quarter of '08 were Macs, for computers bearing a price tag over US$1000 Apple account for 70% of all sales!

It has been my experience that the kinds of people that buy these kind of high-end computers are computer enthusiasts, musicians, video enthusiasts, and of course gamers. If game companies are watching these figures - and you can be pretty sure that they are - they have got to realize that with that many high-end Macs out there then there must be a market for high-end Mac games.

This other article from the same site is filled with similar news about Apple's second quarter for '08. With sites like Engadget with their "2007 Engadget Awards" listing Vista as the "Worst Gadget of the Year" and handing out "Best Gadget of the Year" to - yes, of course - Apple's iPhone. Apple scored about a dozen awards all up. Microsoft scored "Game Console of the Year" with the Xbox360 (considering what Engadget awarded Vista I can't see Microsoft advertising the fact). Despite everyone being wrapped up in the iPhone it was a Sony Ericsson that took away "Cellphone of the Year"

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Those of you looking for a quality spare wheel cover can find one here.

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In other news, Mick has started a blog where he tells of his switch to linux.

Apple breaks own record.

Apple reports that in the last quarter they shipped:

• 22,121,000 iPods
• 2,315,000 iPhones
• 2,319,000 Macs

There are certainly a lot more Macs around. This time last year I didn't know anyone with an Apple computer and only a couple of people even with iPods. Now I can name at least five people I personally know that own Macs and iPods seem to be everywhere. iPhones are yet to make it to Australia but the way we are with bleeding edge technology I reckon it'll be only weeks of it's release before we see people showing them off to each other.

Vista is popping up here and there but very few people I ask about it are enjoying the experience. Only one Vista user I have ever spoken to has actually claimed to "love" it so there are some admirers out there. The majority of people don't think very highly of it at all and most express a desire to go back to Windows XP.

I don't see the point in buying a PC or laptop with Vista on it. It's like buying a tape measure with inches and feet on it or a ... something else that's old and useless. It's too late, we've got better stuff now.

It must be hard to steal good ideas these days...

On the 1st of January this year a reviewer called Erika Jonietz published an article at TechnologyReview.com that is being quoted by like minded Windows users around the world.

Ironically, playing around with Vista for more than a month has done what years of experience and exhortations from Mac-loving friends could not: it has converted me into a Mac fan.

-Erika Jonietz, TechnolgyReview.com

With the fact that Windows Vista has had so many bad reviews it surprises me that people still go out and purchase a computer with it simply because, well, what else are you going to have?

Harvey Norman have even started selling a very cheap Linux based laptop.

Few people may remember a version of windows called Windows Me. Basically it was the last version of Windows98. Officially Me stood for Millenium Edition but ended up being known as the Mistake Edition. Never was there a more unstable and buggy operating system. WindowsXP was released very quickly after and everyone pretended that WindowsMe didn't happen.

It's happening again.

Vista is the new Me.

Hang on, that didn't come out right...

There is already talk of Windows 7. It will come out quickly and Vista will disappear. Microsoft will need to get this one right. 7 will have to be the new XP. Maybe they will...

hope not...

First Hand Bad Experience

I just got a phone call from the service agent who has been battling LG to get my air conditioner fixed and they tell me that they've received an entire new unit. So they'll be taking the old one away and installing a completely new system, bot outdoor unit and head unit.

For those of you that haven't kept up with this blog, since I called LG on the 25th July 2007 my 36,000 BTU air conditioner has been waiting for repair. It has taken them several spare parts and service calls over a period longer than five months to come to the conclusion that it's stuffed and I need a new one. Hurrah!

Let this be a lesson for all my readers.
I am writing from my own first hand experiences.
Don't buy Microsoft Windows Vista.
Or LG air conditioners.

Thoughts of the moment

I've just finished installing Linspire 6.0 on the box that I just exorcised Vista from. Linspire still feels a little clunky to use but it should do the job. There just doesn't seem to be the passion put into it that there was when Micheal Robertson was the driving force behind the project. I may actually try to track down a copy of Windows2000 Professional to serve if I don't gel well with Linux.

---

Not only are Macs better, but they're cheaper than Windows PCs causing many Apple fan sites to start exclaiming "Mac has won!" comparing resale value when selling your computer.

"After just a year or two of use, a Windows machine gets so gummed up with spyware, viruses and other nasty stuff that it seems malicious to ask anybody for money for the thing."

-Farhad Manjoo, Machinist: Tech Blog

I love our new Mac, it's too cool. Already three family members have purchased Macs this year not including our purchase of our Mac Mini and about four mates have told me that they are definitely going to get one!

---

It's election time and it looks like Howard's fighting an uphill battle. Daniel gets dramatic about the environmental issues. It an alright read.

---

Businesses that only run Microsoft Windows are turning to Apple for their server needs!

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Targeting for Metal Storm

First Mac

I woke up on Monday morning and crawled out of bed to the computer.

Through bleary eyes I clicked Start and found the Firefox icon.

I tried to type the couriers site.

www.tmt.cp,

doh... typo - tap Backspace repeatedly.

check hand position...

stare at keyboard and blink a couple of times...

www.tnt.com.au

[Enter]

minimize Firefox

open a pdf on the desktop - the shipping order from Apple for the Mac Mini

double click to select the order number - right click and copy

alt tab to firefox

right click and paste

[enter]

.........

Onboard for Delivery - Gladstone

close eyes really tight

look again

Onboard for Delivery - Gladstone

Oh, sweeeeet... its here... over a week since the release of Leopard and it's finally here.

www.google.com.au TNT Gladstone Australia Big Book Business Directory

scroll down

TNT Express (Gladstone, QLD)

read the phone number

grab phone and copy the number off the computer screen onto the phone screen

"beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep"

[TALK]

"brrrp brrrp, brrrp brrrp, "

"TNT Gladstone, Sumdude speaking."

"Hey, I'm expecting a package for Jon O'Hare"

"Yeah, we got a couple here."

"Don't put them on the truck! See you in a minute!"

*click*

I took this photo Monday afternoon after getting everything set up... and before I dusted... Everything I had ordered had arrived ten days later. The custom built Mac Mini came with Tiger pre-installed which surprised me a little, but the lady from Apple I spoke to on the phone last Friday said that might happen. Instead I got a Leopard drop-in kit which is just a Leopard DVD in a paper sleeve packaged with the other disks.

I've been pretty busy setting everything up and fiddling with it, transferring photos and music from the Vista machine it replaces and integrating them into iPhoto and iTunes. For the most part everything went smoothly. I installed the software we have become used to (Joost, Vuze, Firefox, Google Earth, VLC) and some software that is completely new to me like EyeTV.

So far I'm impressed. It's so much nicer to use than anything I've used before. Even in the short time that I've played with it, I have already come to appreciate the integration of the core Mac applications and Front Row is so refreshing after battling with Windows Media Center.

Speaking of Front Row, the little remote control that comes with the Mac works really well. Toss the keyboard and mouse aside and click the Menu button on the Front Row Remote and the computer turns into a media center with videos and music from your own collection plus previews from iTunes and slide shows of your iPhoto collection.

The only problems with so far have been to do with networking. While the Mac connected to the network and found it's way to the Internet through my router without any help from me, it took some time to figure out how to get it to talk to the Windows machines on the network. Like most things on any computer though, you bang your head against it for ages and don't get anywhere until you see that one little thing, that one tiny little setting, that one radio button or switch, and you click it... and everything just works... and you feel like a idiot for not finding it in the first place.

So that's sorted. Installed EyeTV and can watch digital television and analogue television plus we can record stuff from the VHS player with it now. It seems to work well so far and also uses the Front Row remote control allowing us to pause and rewind live TV. Cilla gets a little worried about the space-time continuum when we do that.

I just finished recording a two hour VHS tape to put on DVD. It's almost exactly two hours long and takes up five and a half gig (5.5GB). I still have a little playing around to do with it yet so we'll see how it goes.

Since I've started getting into Mac computers and blogging about them and discussing them with friends and family I've noticed that they are being bought. Cilla's niece, Jemma asked me a while back now what sort of computer she should get and I suggested a MacBook. She took my advice and seems very happy with it. Mum got herself a 24" iMac which is just lovely. I got told that Uncle Phil ordered a Mac about the time I ordered ours - I have yet to catch up with him and find out which one. Mark the Electricity Man, Bill the Airconditioner Man and Steve the Drumming Man have all said that they intend to aquire Macs of their own. It's hasn't even been twelve months since Jem got hers. Steve Jobs said 2007 was going to be a good year for Apple. If this kind of interest in their products is world-wide I reckon that would be spelling even better times to come.

OSX 10.5 is a beautiful operating system to use. I've only been using it for two days and I can't think of a single reason why I'd want to put Boot Camp on and run Windows. Sure, some things are done differently on the Mac than they were on Windows - but some things are done differnetly on WindowsXP than they are on Vista.

So far, lovin' it!

Storage

We currently have two PCs. Both PCs have more than one hard drive. In fact, they have several hard drives each. My computer, which runs Windows XP with Service Pack 2 and gets used for editing high definition video has:

1. 240GB
2. 300 GB
3. 300 GB
4. 380 GB

while the Media Center, which runs Windows Bloody Vista Ultimate Pain In The Ass Edition 32 Bit and gets used for inventing new swear-phrases, has:

1. 80 GB
2. 160 GB
   
3. 240 GB

When it finally arrives, our Mac Mini (to replace the media center) will be equipped with a 160GB hard disk. Our music collection alone would take up over a quarter of that space! Not to worry though. I'll delete Vista from the media center machine, strip it and rebuild it as a server and the Mac can access all it's hard disk space over the network. Simple. PCs are good at storage and serving - especially when running Linux.

---

I own Linspire because I bought LindowsOS for US$100.00 to help Michael Robinson fight Microsoft in court because he was being sued to change the name of "Lindows" because it sounded too much like "Windows". Michael (or Mr Robinson? I suppose I don't call Steve 'Mr Jobs') counter-sued, saying that the term "windows" is a generic word used for many years by companies like Xerox and Apple to describe graphical user interfaces in an operating system. So Microsoft sued him in several other countries.

Microsoft were worried about LindowsOS because it actually started to sell in boxed versions around the world. I have even seen it on the shelf at Harvey Norman right here in Gladstone.

I'm sure I read somewhere - but I can't actually find it anywhere now so it may have been a vicious rumour - about how Microsoft actually started cutting deals with stores that stocked LindowsOS, offering them substantial discounts on Microsoftware in return for not stocking LindowsOS

---

I figured that $100.00 to fight Microsoft was $100.00 well spent - not only that - Michael sent me a shirt which quickly became a favourite that I wore with a great deal of pride!

That was the shirt that recently got washed with something that wasn't as colourfast as previously thought and became a colour that quite frankly, I find difficult to wear in public, let alone with any pride... but enough about the shirt!

"If you're reading this Michael, please sir, may I have another?"

---

The One Hundred Ewe Es Dollars also got me a lifetime membership and every upgrade forever! It also got me permanent access to their Click and Run Warehouse which ACTUALLY LETS YOU INSTALL STUFF ON LINUX making the only Linux I've ever used that I've ever been able to install something on.

That was back in '02 and I got LindowsOS 4.5 and it was... okay...

I tried Linspire Five-Oh and it was... better...

Linspire was hard to sell to people...

---

"Hey, have you seen that new Linux that's really easy to use?"

"Bah! There's no such thing as an easy to use Linux!"

"Yeah man, check it out, Linspire!"

"Cool, finally we can break the bonds of monopoly chains! Speaking of Monopoly, what games can I play on it?"

"Oh, there's this cool one where you're a penguin."

"Right... so it's... useless"

"No! It's great in the office! It's got a word processor and a spreadsheet! And it's even got a print manager! Wo0O0o!"

"Does it run Quickbooks or MYOB?"

"A print manager! Wo0O0o!"

---

So Linspire 6.0 is the current version and will be my consumer level server software that will replace Vista on the soon to be converted media center - provided I can get file sharing worked out on the latest version of Linspire, which I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to work it out.

It's based on Ubuntu which I actually recently tried out from a LinuxLive DVD that was loaded up with Beryl which look unbelivably cool. I want to use Linux on my PCs and I have one with support at my disposal so Linspire will be my Windows alternative where ever possible.

---

Time Machine requires an external hard drive plugged into your Mac.

I was looking for a Firewire hub.

In my search I found this:-image from LaCie.com

It's a stackable external hard disk specifically made for the Mac Mini by LaCie in 320GB and 500GB models with a USB 2.0 hub and a Firewire hub built in. I found a 500GB one on ShopBot for AUD$276.10 which isn't terrible considering the enclosure and hubs.

That's cool. And this is cool.

---

Check out this... thing... from Vista.

Quick translation: "Your stuff doesn't work with Vista - Buy new stuff."

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Happy Leopard Day!

It's here! Or at least it will be.... TODAY! At 6pm.

The news and IT sites are going crazy with news and reviews on Leopard. One thing that's consistant is that everyone is saying its better than Vista. Smaller, faster, prettier, more secure, more stable and much cheaper for the Ultimate Edition! And it's 64bit, from top-to-bottom!

We already knew all that though...

OS Pricing

It's not something I'll have to worry about because I'll be waiting the 7 days, 17 hours, 16 minutes and 45 seconds before the release of Apple's Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard before I buy a Mac so it will come with it, but just for interest sake, lets compare prices between the Microsoft and Apple operating systems once again.

For the purposes of this comparison I will be using the prices from Harris Technology for the Microsoft operating systems and the Apple Australia online store for OS X.

Apple OS X 10.5 Leopard - $158.00

Windows Vista Ultimate Edition Upgrade - $495.00
Windows Vista Ultimate Edition Complete Package - $750.00

I don't see the point in comparing the lesser Microsoft OS's because they are just cut-down versions of their Ultimate Edition, but even if you go for the cheapest, most cut-down version and even if you are eligable for the Upgrade version...

Windows Vista Home Basic Upgrade - $199.00

HT also sell Windows XP Professional SP2 in the form of a "Microsoft Get Genuine Kit" for those unfortunate people who have found themselves with what seems to be a pirated "Non-Genuine" copy of Windows XP. But they only seem to offer it in a 10 pack for $2, 707.00, for pirates that have ten computers I suppose, or those dodgy little computer shops that sell $800.00 PC's.

Think about it people - an $800.00 PC with Windows on it. About $200.00 is for an OEM version Windows. So the hardware is about $600.00. You can't get an LCD monitor for under $200.00 (even from GameDude!) so the box is worth about $400.00. There has to be some profit for the guy selling it, otherwise, why would he bother. Do you really think you can get a quality computer for under $400.00?

For the love of Mr Deity, don't waste your money on crap like that! Getamac

Why windows users don't switch.

Over at Apple Matters, Steven Leigh gives eight reasons why Windows users don't switch to the Mac. I could'nt have written it better myself. Except for point 7 - my experience with Vista has not been good. But apart from that one point, he's on the money!

Gonna get a pet Leopard

We have made a decision what our next computer will be. We will replace our Windows Vista Ultimate Edition media center PC in the lounge room with our first Mac!

In my humble opinion, Macs are at the stage now where they are not only a viable alternative to a Windows PC, but a preferred alternative. Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) is due to be released this month which will replace the current Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger). Leopard is actually certified as UNIX. That's the kind of stable and secure operating system that they use in banks and the space shuttle. While virus and worms for Windows number in the hundreds of thousands you can count all OS X virus threats on your fingers. The Mac seems to be a great computer for everything...

Everything except games.

But the lounge room computer is a media center. It needs to play DVDs and music, connect to Joost and YouTube, browse the web and online banking, access Gmail and Google Calendar and... well... everything, except play games.

Perfect!

So I've spent the last few months carefully researching how to make a Mac media center. I already have a nice LCD TV and a great surround sound setup. Mac Mini is the obvious choice. I will wait until Leopard is released before we get it but the specs should be as follows:

1. 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
2. 1GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300) on two SO-DIMMs
3. Intel GMA 950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM share
4. 160GB Serial ATA hard disk drive
5. Dual Layer DVD±R/W (SuperDrive)

This year has seen iMac updated with aluminium and glass, the release of the iPhone in America and U.K. and iPod has been updated with a whole new family so I live in hope that Apple will give us an updated Mac Mini with a better graphics chip to go along with the release of Leopard. I can't see that happening, but I can dream...

Elgato EyeTV Hybrid is a USB TV tuner that supports both analogue and digital television and also allows me to connect an analogue source through composite or s-video so I can record off my VCR. Firefox, VLC Media Player and Joost all work on Mac so we won't lose our favourite programs.

If I've missed something, please let me know... it's not too late, comment below!

Screw Vista

Seriously. This is bad software. I was hanging out for a copy of Vista so bad and when it was released it was the single biggest dissapointment in my personal history of computers. I've whinged about Microsoft before but this from the Get Off Microsoft blog really takes the cake.

"Vista is also not as secure and failure-proof as Microsoft would have you believe. The company’s stealth updates and bug fixes for Vista — performed without user knowledge or approval, and even when automatic updating was turned off — have raised many more questions than Microsoft answered when it admitted doing it this week. For example, is this silent update capability a security vulnerability that could be exploited by others?"

-Get Off Microsoft

Apparently these updates happened to XP users as well. Sorry, but that isn't the kind of behaviour one should expect from a company that has a representitive on the vast majority of all the personal computers in the world. Yet another reason why my next PC will be a Mac. But also, I have to kill this Vista machine in the loungeroom as quickly as possible! What to do...

Eye Spies

Spybot S&D. It's free and its regularly updated.

Antivirus software doesn't check all threats. Just known worms, trojans and viruses. It doesn't worry about spyware. Spyware is stuff that watches you and then send observations somewhere on the net. What it watches may range from which websites you visit to which keys you press when you are doing your banking online. If you want to keep safe online make sure you have something that keeps the Spyware out. I use Spybot S&D. S&D stands for Search and Destory. It's good. It's easy to use. It's regularly updated and it doesn't cost you a cent. Those are qualities I like in my software. In that order.

So all you Windows XP and Windows Vista users out there, you have a firewall. It's built into Windows and is usually turned on by default. Some of you may use other firewalls. If you have an nVidia chipset motherboard, you may have the nVidia Network Access Manager software or others like ZoneAlarm.

Everyone should have antivirus. Again, there are plenty of choices. Mine is Avast! but plenty of people will swear by AVG and others will insist on buying Nortons or McAfee.

And then there's the Anti-Spyware. Microsoft make a free anti-spyware package called Windows Defender. Whatever. Spybot is good, easy, free and up-to-date. There are others, both free and commercial.

So protect yourself.

1. Firewall
2. Anti-virus
3. Anti-spyware

Take a minute right now to check that you have all this installed and check that its all up to date and do a scan of your hard-drives with the anti-virus and anti-spyware.

And make sure that your windows is up to date.

Start => All Programs => Windows Update

Be safe online.

Out.

Dig at Vista again.

blog
n. an online journal where people can post entries about why they deserve attention.

Microsoft reduce choice again!

Computer makers have been told they'll no longer be able to get Windows XP OEM by the end of this year, despite consumer resistance to Vista and its compatibility problems.

By early 2008, Microsoft's contracts with computer makers will require companies to only sell Vista-loaded machines...

The full story on the APC Mag website on NineMSN. It's worth having a look at if only for the artwork of "The Scream" painted over a Windows logo.

Still thinking of Vista?

If you are, you should prolly have a look at the Digital Rights Restrictions and the insane precautions taken by Windows Vista security.

Pay Up! For the Vista Content Protection Racket

If you aren't, check out the prices of these machines.

Apple Store

Cool Apples

Beside a big "The WOW starts NOW" Windows Vista ad, I found a story by Leander Kahney of Wired.com that he wrote on the 20th of this month titled Apple of Our Eye:Macs Save Money. He says that a lot of people are now having a serious look at Macs in the face of Vista. He attributes this new interest, not only to the iPod, but to the new iPhone and finishes up to say that Apple hasn't changed, only peoples perception of Apple has changed because of these products. Well I say there has been quite a few factors that are making people look to Apple for their next PC.

High on the list is Windows Vista. Sure, it's pretty and all, but the security - like Product Activation - gets in the way of the user experience. That, and even Microsoft admit that 1 out of 10 of your hardware devices aren't supported by Vista.

Then there is, as our Wired.com writer point out, the iPod and the iPhone, both of which are the pinnacle of user-friendliness for mp3 players and mobile phones respectively.

The ads have given people a laugh which helps get people to look out of their Windows and check out they Macs. And while the ads lay a lot of shit on the Windows PC's, they wouldn't be funny if they weren't true.

There are a lot of people who use iTunes on Windows now. This is mostly due to the fact that it gets bundled with Quicktime, which is one of those third-party software packages that Windows users must have like Adobe Reader, RealPlayer or Antivirus software. MacOS X is like iTunes. If you can use iTunes you can already use a Mac.

Then there is the Mac hardware. Not only is it all made Intel processors like the PC, the more powerful iMacs and Mac Pros have ATI or nVidia graphics in them. SATA hard drives, USB, Firewire... under the bonnet, they have almost identical parts to a PC. It's no wonder that all the new Macs can actually run Windows natively now (without emulation). Update your new Mac, install the Bootcamp software (which will also come with every new Mac soon), and then install your WindowsXP or Vista on it as you would on a PC... if you must.

So I think Apple have changed. A lot. They still have a closed system that is not upgradable (unless you get a Mac Pro, but they are very expensive), but it's easy to use and just works.

Stick this in your product and activate it!

I own three copies of Windows.

Three separate and different copies of Windows, not counting the ones that came before Windows XP. There's Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and of course the Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Edition, the most ridiculous name yet. Of course there was the before time, before XP. When XP came out it was a saviour for PC users. It rescued us from Windows Me, and to a lesser extent, Windows2000. I never had Windows Me but I did own a copy of Windows2000. And Windows 98, both the original and the Second Edition (98SE), and Windows95b.

By "own" I mean I paid for them. I have the hologram imprinted discs, the manuals and the Certificates of Authenticity.

Enter product activation.

While product activation and licensing servers are common for business and industrial software ... Windows XP gave many casual computer users their first introduction to it. The system was introduced by Microsoft to curb unauthorized distribution of Windows XP. Activation requires the computer or the user to activate with Microsoft within a certain amount of time in order to continue using the operating system. If the user's computer system ever changes — for example, if two or more relevant components of the computer itself are upgraded — Windows may refuse to run until the user reactivates with Microsoft.

-Wikipedia, WindowsXP, Product Activation

So I tried to install Windows on my computer and got the message to activate Windows or it will stop working in 30 days. Okay, whatever. We're used to Microsoft making us pay extraordinary amounts of money for the privilege of being forced to jump through their many hoops.

Click. Wait.

Turns out I have installed it more than the number of times I'm allowed to install it. Doesn't tell me how many times that was, but the last time was, well, the last time. I have not gone and installed in on several different machines, I have only two computers and the other one is running Vista. I'm just doing a format and re-install here. But here we are, with Microsoft refusing to activate my Windows online.

Fine. Close the stupid activation crap. I still got 30 days. I'll go to the Microsoft website. Maybe there is something there that will tell me why, with my genuine Windows disc and authentic CD-Key, can't I activate my software? More to the point, why the f*** should I have to?

So I'm looking through all this Genuine Advantage crap on the Microsoft site, looking for some way to say, hey, I'm a customer, fix me up here, and all I can find is a page that is basically selling copies of Windows over the net. They say I'm in Australia and my price to activate Windows it $238.00. And when I pay, they'll e-mail me a new CD-Key, activate Windows and

Then up pops a Survey about the Microsoft Genuine Advantage.

Wow. Wasn't that rich?

• Question 1
  
  What was your initial reaction to discovering that you do not have a genuine copy of Windows?

1. No real reaction
2. Expected
3. Disbelief or suspicion
4. Surprise or shock
5. Other (please specify)

Well, I was pretty bloody surprised that somehow my copy of Windows went from genuine to non-genuine overnight! The CD looks the same... maybe something has changed on the hologram... I bet terrorists had something to do with this!

• Question 2

How did you become aware you were using Non Genuine Windows software on your PC

(choose one)

1. Went to download center to download Microsoft Software
2. Popup appeared on my computer informing me I was running a Non Genuine license of Windows
3. Went to install Internet Explorer v7, Windows Media Player, Windows Defender
4. Wanted my updates from Windows Update
5. Other (please specify)

Again, no option to clear my name. And do I get the feeling that I have already been assumed guilty of using Non Genuine Software? The accusations keep coming.

• Question 3

How do you feel about not having a genuine copy of Windows?

1. It does not bother me
2. Somewhat uncomfortable
3. Very uncomfortable
4. Other (please specify)

• Question 4

After being informed that you do not have a genuine copy of Windows, why did you choose not to click on any links to continue?

1. Not interested in obtaining a genuine copy
2. Plan on switching to a non Microsoft operating system (ie Linux, Mac, etc)
3. Did not understand the steps
4. Need more information
5. Planning to purchase Vista
6. Need time to think about next steps
7. Believe my copy of Windows is genuine
8. Need to research price
9. Concerned Microsoft may be able to identify me
10. Other (please specify)

• Question 5

Which of the following actions do you plan to take as a result of finding out that your copy of Windows is not genuine? (Please select all that apply)

1. Contact my PC reseller
2. Contact Microsoft
3. Try again
4. Obtain another copy of Windows
5. Purchase a Genuine Advantage Kit for Windows XP
6. None of the above

I couldn't help notice that Question 5 has no "Other (please specify)" option. Well, that and the fact the there is the presumption that I'm a pirate. Who the hell would take this survey? Who is it aimed at? Surely not their customers that have purchased legitimate copies of their software! It seems a lot like a fear tactic to scare you into buying a CD-Key. Clearly this is aimed at pirates (who probably don't scare easily). I checked out the next page of the survey just to see how much further they could insult me.

• Question 6

For statistical purposes only, we need to know your total household income for 2006. Please indicate which of the following categories best represents your total family income.

• Question 7

Are you male or female?

• Question 8

What year were you born?

• Question 9

What is the highest degree or level of education you have completed?

• Question 10

Listed below are different ways people might use to acquire a variety of software, both operating system software and other types of applications. For each of these, please indicate which you would consider as a way to acquire operating system software (like Windows) for your business.

(choose as many as apply)

1. Buy used software
2. Purchase from system builder who is a certified Microsoft Partner
3. Upgrade your software without having a genuine or legal copy of the version to be upgraded
4. Buy software from a private party, such as a friend, co-worker or at a garage/tag sale
5. Bring software home from work to install on a home computer
6. Purchase from a reputable online retailer such as Amazon.com
7. Purchase software for less money in another country
8. Access activation keys online that allow you to activate more copies of software
9. Purchase software from a street vendor or market stall (such as a flea market)
10. Purchase from a national retail chain such as Best Buy
11. Download software from a peer-to-peer network such as Kazaa or Morpheus
12. Purchase software from an auction site, like Ebay
13. Use academic software for home or commercial use
14. Use software you already have for one PC on another different PC
15. Borrow software from a friend or co-worker
16. None of the above

Well that's as far as I went with that survey. What a bunch of dopes. To purchase MacOS X costs under $200.00 and has no product activation. Besides, MacOS X is what the $700.00+ Windows Vista Ultimate Edition copied all its best features from! Damn, I can't wait to ditch this Windows crap for good.

Oh, by the way, the product activation for my WindowsXP gave me a toll-free phone number to call support. When i rang and gave him the activation number, the Indian guy on the other end of the line asked me three times if I had that copy of Windows installed on any other machines. I assured him that I did not and he gave me the activation code. All is good and that is all behind me.

Still. Can't wait to buy my first Intel Mac...

Time to switch

The Sinclair ZX 80. This was my first computer. It plugged into the antenna on the TV, had eight colours (or maybe 16) and BASIC. It also had a microphone and speaker jack so you could plug it into cassette recorder and save your programs onto tapes.

I was twelve back then, and although I thought it was cool, it was not a lot of fun.

Second computer was also a ZX 80. I can't seem to find a picture of it, but it was more like a personal organiser thing from Tandy with a tiny little keyboard and a calculator-style LCD screen. It did use a ZX 80 chip though and you could write BASIC programs for it, but no big screen to see the fruits of your labours.

Then one day Dad asks me "Which computer should we get? An Apple IIe or a Commodore 64". I had seen Apple IIe's at school. You had to type in codes to get a square block called a Turtle to move around the screen to draw patterns. I had also seen Commodore64's at school. Commodore64s had games. "The Commodore64 would be my choice Dad" I replied.

And so we found a secondhand C64 in the classifieds. It was a bundle of secondhand gear. The 48cm Rank Arena colour television, a tape drive, a disk drive, a couple of joysticks and about 500 floppy disks of games. Damn. I'll never forget that day. Heaven.

The Commodore64 was my third computer and lasted for about two years before starting to spend more time in the repair shop than at home. I don't think I ever got around to playing all the games that came with it. Dad never really got into trying to use it for his work. There wasn't much in the way of drawing packages for the C64. Besides, it would have cut into my game time.

My family travelled about a fair bit around Queensland chasing work during the eighties. We were in Cairns when I started to see other computers. Nathan, a school mate had an Amstrad CPC 464. It was almost identical to the C64 to use, although the BASIC was a little less forgiving, and the tape deck was built right into the keyboard! Only one joystick port though so you had to daisy-chain joysticks together to multiplay anything.

Mmmm, multiplayer games. I've always loved mulitplayer games. Playing the AI just doesn't have the same satisfaction as crushing another human being into the dust. Hours of Archon, Hard Ball, International Karate, Summer Games and M.U.L.E. on my C64 and I got a good kick out of Top Gun on Nathan's Amstrad CPC.

I also saw the new computer from Commodore. The Amiga 500. I wasn't really all that impressed with the Amiga. Not sure why. I guess I thought when Commodore were to move on from my beloved C64, I expected better.

Then I walked into The Byte Centre in Cairns. The Apple shop. The place one goes to aquire a Mac. They didn't have Apple IIe's there. They had this thing called a Macintosh. It was a white box with a slit in the front and it had a mouse. I said I was interested in looking at thier computers and even though I was only 13, they sat me down and left me to play. I pointed. I clicked. I double-clicked. I even triple-clicked. I opened a program called Pixel Paint, a colour version of MacPaint (which is still now vastly superior to Microsoft Paint), and with a click I filled the screen with 256 brilliant colours. I spent the next four hours at least sitting on this worderful machine drawing, making cartoons with some Garfield comic-building program, opening windows, resizing windows. Point. Click. Drag. Wow.

The next chance I got, I dragged Dad into The Byte Centre. Soon after that we had a Macintosh II sitting at home.

Well homework was certainly made easier. A big Apple LaserWriter to go with this baby made sure of that. Not much for games, but for everything else this machine did it with ease. I wrote music on it with MIDI software called ConcertWare. I drew and painted and created and wrote. I even got into animation with a program called MacroMind Director. Dad did his technical drawings and Mum used it with for her graphic art and both worked without having to know anything about how the computer worked. It just did.

I'd like to say that it ran perfectly and we never had any problems with it, but that just isn't the case. On more than one occasion we were pulling our hair out. When this particular Mac crashes, it plays a sound that sounds like a single strum on a harp, then it leaves you staring at a grey screen with nothing on it except a little icon-sized mac face with crosses for eyes and a frowny face. Ok, so this means that my Mac has died and gone to heaven? I guess so! BYTE CENTRE!!! Those guys were always great. They fixed our Macs and rescued our sanity a few times.

It was after the Mac experience that I was even exposed to a DOS Box. Eww... I loved all technology equally back then. But even new DOS Boxes seemed somehow... old... compared to our Macs and I didn't really get introduced to PC's until I was forced to. We moved again, this time to a town with no Byte Centre. In fact, not an Apple in sight. You would have to travel about five hundred kilometers to get to an Apple reseller. I was in Grade 11 and trying to find a career and I had just lost my Mac world. Everyone used PC's and this bloody awful excuse for a graphical interface called Windows for Workgroups 3.11. Taught in school they were very easy to understand. CD to change directory, DEL or ERASE to wipe a file. It didn't seem to me at the time very smart to be learning DOS after I'd seen a WIMP (Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointer) OS (Operating System).

Then came Doom. I did have a go at Wolfenstien3D, but it didn't cut it. Doom had it all. Doom on networked 486 PC's running DOS. You'd have to spend some six to eight hours to get the IPX network running over coax network cable. Awful stuff. But once you get it going you'd play DeathMatch Doom for days straight.

The beer bottles and cigarette butts pile up around you, your bloodshot eyes staring into the glow of your monitor as you sprint as fast as you can across pools of acid with rockets blazing at a foe who is sitting on the other side of the table from you in his own monitor glow lit crater of Simpson Street debris. Don't drink the water.
---Simpson Street.

That was me. PC's have the games. Warcraft was the next big multiplayer time loser. Lost months to that one. F1 GP was great multiplayer. Of course there was all the Doom clones. Heretic, DukeNukem 3d which was awsome and Rise of the Triad even got a small showing.

Then came Windows95. That was cool. The PC had finally caught up. Sort of. But with no alternatve I learned to use it. At least it looked like a proper WIMP OS.

I built my first PC on the dole, a frankensteins monster of second hand parts and hand-me downs. It was a Cyrix MX chip 120MHz. I had it overclocked to 133MHz. Not deliberatly. I didn't have the jumpers set right, but I didn't notice for about 6 months. I think it had 64Mb of RAM and a 1Mb S3 Virge PCI video card, 200Mb Hard Drive and a 1x CD-ROM that loaded with a cartridge. I painted the beige box with black spraypaint and scored a 19" CRT monitor from a draftsman. That monitor stayed with me for a lot longer than that computer did. I only disposed of it last year.

First real job out of school was not the big rock band that I had hoped for. After a few blurry years out of school and out of home, where if I wasn't playing with a computer I was playing guitar. After many drunk nights out at the local karaoke bar I even found that I could sing a few notes. It was in said karaoke bar that I met my wife. Of course she wouldn't be my wife until about five years later. We moved in together and soon after that Social Security got sick of supporting me. They rang me up and asked me if I would like a job. I thought this was a trick question. I'd heard about these. People telling the truth could get their dole cut off. "Yes", I replied. They said "Good, get dressed for an interview." Fifteen minutes later a guy turns up at my doorstep and drives me to the interview. He tells me and this other young feller what job we are actually applying for on the way. "Computer Technician" he tells me. "You had computers on your list of interests." I still remember the small talk with the other candidate.

"So, y'know much about computers?", I asked.
"I got a Playstaion", he told me, nodding, in a tone that suggested to me that he believed that to be the one and true answer to my question.
I hoped it was.

Anyway, I got the job. Dave, the guy that owned the shop had his wife to do the interview. "I just built my own computer" beats saying "I've clocked Need for Speed on my Playstation three times". Clearly the pickings for employees wasn't great back then, but I learned a lot there. I blew up a few computers and Dave didn't kill me for which I am thankful.

It was working here that I was introduced to the Internet. IRC (Internet Relay Chat) with people all over the world in little computer shops like mine all chatting to each other about the problems they are trying to solve and the solutions that have been found. Online gaming started to get popular with Diablo. RealPlayer streamed music and terrible video to us. Of course there was the World Wide Web, or as we used to call it, the World Wide Wait. The upgrade from 28.8 and 33.6 modems to 56.6 was an amazing boost in speed. Some even got webcams to work on it. Every now and then I'd surf on over to Apple and have a look at what they were up to, like some exile sneaking back to check up on his family.

So that was me for the next seven or so years. Compuer Technician. We saw OS2 (what PC's could've been if we had stuck with OS2 instead of Windows...) come and go. Windows95 and its several versions. Internet Explorer 4 came out and was followed by Windows98. Windows98SE was the best Windows for games when it came out and kept the top place through WindowsMe and Windows2000 until WindowsXP was released.

WindowsMe was quite possibly the worst Windows since Windows 3.1. Most prefer to forget it existed, including Microsoft I think.

I've been running WindowsXP ever since, albiet the x64 edition now on my latest PC. I've had a play with many different breeds of Linux and even purchased Lindows (now Linspire).

Enter Vista. Personally I don't like Vista. It's true that it's more secure. It's true that it's easier to use. It's also true that its a pile of steaming dog shit. Just my personal opinion. Stick with XP and when really must upgrade, buy a Mac.

Check it out. While I was away, but watching out of the corner of my eye to be sure, Apple has changed. Steve Jobs, founder and God of Apple, got fired and cast out. He tried to start another computer business called NeXT and failed. Apple weren't doing so well, even without a god and started licencing clones (Apple computers built by third parties) in the hopes that things would pick up. After all, Windows was doing so well and a major factor of its success is that it runs on clones. Things didn't pick up so Apple re-instated Steve Jobs as their god and saviour and Steve smote the clones and painted the Macs in bright colours. Good idea, but we need more from a diety.

iPod.

And all of Appletopia rejoiced. They rejoiced long and hard and, most importantly, loud. The rest of the world heard and listened. They hear the rejoicing and listened to iPod and iTunes. On Windows. It looks good and it's easy to use. And it just worked. Like Macs.

Steve ditched the lagging PowerPC processors in favour of the latest speed demons from Intel. Dual-core, 64bit, blisteringly fast and suprisingly cheap, the new Intel chips are pushing some models of the Macs up to 5x faster than their PowerPC counterpart. The same chips that anyone building an Intel Windows box would buy today are in all the new Macs. And graphics cards. Macs are using the nVidia chips and ATI chips that PC gamers put in thier rigs. Same kind of RAM, same kind of Hard Drives... they've turned into PC's running MacOS X.

Games are mostly written to run on Windows. I think I have made it clear that I love my games. That fact has kept me from trying to find my way back to the Mac world. A recent visit to the Apple website has just removed that problem.

Apple have released software called BootCamp which allows you to install WindowsXP on any Mac computer with an Intel CPU and dual-boot between Windows and MacOS X. There are reports of people running Half-Life 2 and FarCry on thier Macs already. Seeing as all new Macs are now Intel chips I can't see why I'd buy anything else. MacOSX is beautiful and for the odd thing that I absolutley need Windows for, it now runs nativly on the Mac. Check out the preview of the latest version. You'll need broadband to watch it though.

Ain't that just the cutest little computer you ever did see? This thing retails for under a grand Australian. For the entry level one that is. If you get the bigger model and max out the RAM and Hard Drive, it's still under two grand. This isn't a gaming computer though. The MacMinis are entry level computers as far as gaming due to the Intel Graphics. This Mac is more suited to photo editing, video editing, media center, office work, internet, just about everything else actually. If you're not into games, there's nothingn wrong with this little piece of art and the bundled software will have you actually being creative with your stuff.

This is the beast on my wishlist. 24" Apple widescreen display with the entire computer hidden inside the back of it. DVD burner in the side and a webcam built into the top. Entry level for the 24" iMac starts at $2999.00 but to deck it out for the kind of work I'm doing will push it out to around the four and a half grand mark. You can get smaller versions of the iMac for under two grand.

Of course, these machines are still on my wishlist. I have yet to get a new Intel Mac or even have a proper play with MacOS X. One of my neices, Jemma, has just bought herself a 13" MacBook just like this. Notice the built in webcam above the screen.

I'm sure she's going to tell me all about it and when she does, I'll most likely have something to say about it here. Jemma has never owned a Mac and is upgrading from a WindowsXP Tablet PC. But she has an iPod and she's got a friend with a Mac (always helpful when you get stuck) so I think she will make the transition just fine.

Fast. Beautiful. Simple. Sexy. And will now run Windows.

And thats why I'm sure my next PC will be a Mac.

Oh, and Apple are breaking into the media center arena with AppleTV (which has already been hacked to play DivX files) and the mobile phone market with iPhone. iPhone. You want one.

Computers

I've got about eight year of official experience as a computer technician. I love technology and just about everything to do with computers. It's something I am rather good at. I started out with a computer that my Dad gave me called a Sinclair ZX-80. Later I moved on to a Commodore64 and then when I was in high school, my parents got some Apple Macintosh computers. Later on after I left school I learned how to use DOS and Windows 3.11 and I still remember the excitement over Windows95. I can jump onto just about any computer and troubleshoot it. Linux and Unix have always kept me a little baffled. I don't know very much about them, although that doesn't keep me from dabbling every now and then. Currently I run WindowsXP Professional 64bit edition and my wife uses the new Windows Vista Ultimate Edition.

Vista is quite good but not supported enough by hardware vendors to be properly usable. I'd give it another few months (or another year) so that all the kinks can be ironed out properly and drivers can be written for it. Microsoft say that 90% of all modern hardware is now supported but all that means to me is that 10% of all hardware isn't. It's that 10% that will cause headaches for anyone trying to run it. And apart from looking pretty, Vista doesn't really do anything new.

Some people say that with all this computer experience behind me, I should start my own computer shop. I say to those people that they should go jump in an active volcano. The thing about doing computer tech work is that users will bring their broken computer to you and ask you to fix it. No problem provided you can fix it very quickly and have it back to them. The problems come when you are unable to fix it quickly. Suddenly it is the computer technicians fault that it's broken and you have the user screaming abuse at you. Screw that. I don't like jobs where customers aren't happy to see you.

People are idiots.

Present company excepted of course.