Why you should think about buying
your next computer locally

The question of Dell, HP, or a local store comes up occasionally here. I once owned a Dell notebook and loved it. I have an HP at the office and it's OK (rather underpowered for what I need to do, but that's my fault.) At home, I have a computer that a TCR Computers built for me a little over 2 years ago when I was too busy to do what I had done previously, which is build my own. At the time, I said I'd never build another computer myself. Nothing in the past 2 years has changed my mind.

I priced the parts for the computer and found that I could have bought them for about $100 less than I paid TCR for the computer (they buy in quantity and I don't.) For that extra $100, I got a machine that was assembled and tested. The machine has worked well for the past 2 years, but I needed to reinstall the operating system because I couldn't get InDesign CS2 installed. A beta version of the application had created a Registry problem and, after two years of my adding, removing, and updating applications, the computer had become sluggish.

I started on Saturday, July 2nd, and immediately ran into a problem. The Windows XP installer had thrown an error that I'd never previously encountered: It seemed to find the 2 Seagate SATA drives in the computer, but was unable to install to either of them.

I called TCR, not expecting an answer (it was a holiday weekend) and the first person I spoke with had suggestions. I decided to wait until Sunday to try them because they involved opening the box and disconnecting the second hard drive.

I had told the installer to delete the partition on what seemed to be the main drive, but that appeared not to work because, when the installation failed, I restarted the computer without a problem. I had expected it to report that there was no operating system.

Sunday I discovered the reason
for that unexpected behavior.

When I had attempted to format the drive, there were 2 external USB2 drives attached. I had actually deleted the partition from drive M (Multimedia) -- the one that contained approximately 10,116 MP3 and MP4 files and more than 20,000 digital camera images going back 5 years.

Note to self: If you expect to see 2 hard drives that are the same size, examine the information Windows provides before deleting a partition to ensure that you are really seeing two drives that are the same size so that deleting the partition will actually delete the partition you wanted to delete.

Do I seem rather too calm about the disaster of losing a lot of important files? Fortunately, I had a full verified backup, so it took a little more than 2 hours to restore the 30,000+ files that I had so casually blown away.

The moral: Dumb mistakes are OK if you have a backup. Life should work this way, too. I classify this as a dumb mistake because there was no shortage of clues. I simply saw what I wanted to see, not what was really there. Everything in life should be this easy.

With more than 30,000 files restored to drive M, I tried a new approach to installing the operating system: I powered down the external drives and booted from the CD. This time I got an error message that at least makde sense: It said, "Setup did not find any hard disks installed in your computer."

I concluded that I would need to load a driver, but the point at which that happens on a Windows application makes no reference to SATA drives, only SCSI. Given my previous near disaster, I decided that this would be a good time to ask for directions. (See! Men can occasionally ask for directions.)

Expecting not to get a reply until at least Wednesday, I sent a note to TCR Computers describing the problem. Within an hour Sean Buck had replied, saying that he was around this weekend working on another project. He confirmed that a driver was needed and told me where to find the drivers and from there I was back in familiar territory.

With the support files for the SATA controller on a floppy disk (it took 20 minutes to find one!) I told the Windows installer that I wanted to delete the partition on the main drive (and confirmed to the installer that I really wanted to delete the partition on the main drive (and then confirmed that the partition really had the name I expected it to have and was the appropriate size, and confirmed to the installer once more that I was really, really sure)) the installer deleted the partition, let me create a new partition, formatted the partition, and began copying files.

Starting at the top of the sidebar at the left, you'll see what I did to re-install the operating system and the applications. Does this seem like a lot of work? It was. Does it seem like the Mac is easier to deal with if you have to reinstall the operating system? Unforutnately, no. I just went through this exercise with Kaydee's computer. Granted it took only one day instead of several days, but I had to resintall only two major applications (Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite 2). There are more similarities that differences when it comes to maintaining a Mac.

Technology corner rating for TCR COMPUTERS

TEN CATS: No question about it -- when something goes wrong on a holiday weekend and you're able to get in touch with somebody who understands the problem and can solve it, the company deserves ten well-fed cats.

How the Technology Corner rating system works.

Konfabulate your computer

The company that's responsible for the Konfabulator must be of two minds these days: Annoyed that Apple borrowed the idea for their "Widgets" in OS X Tiger, but possibly gratified that Apple has raised the general public's awareness of widgets.

A few weeks ago, when I taked about OS X Tiger for the Mac, I mentioned widgets, how cool they are, and how you can add them to a Windows machine with Pixoria's $20 Konfabulator. In fact, you can use Konfabulator on a Mac that runs OS X, on an antique Mac that's still running System 9, or a Windows computer.

On my Windows machine, Konfabulator is a busy application. When I captured the screen at the left (click the image for a full-size view) I had these 16 widgets running:

(1) Calendar. Well, it's a calendar. That's pretty obvious, eh?

(2) Memory gage. It shows how much memory is in use. I'm comparing it with the next item.

(3) Another memory gage. I think I like this one better. It has more information. (By the way, if you think I should have spelled "gage" as "gauge", you're half right. "Gage" is an accepted alternate spelling that's somewhat rare.

(4) Binary clock.

(5) Standard analog clock: It's displaying the same time as the binary clock.

(6) Current phase of the moon: Helpful for those of us who are looney or who are concerned about vampires.

(7) Weather: Yep -- the current conditions and what's expected over the next several days.

(8) The picture changes every 60 seconds. This is Scampi.

(9) Stocks from companies I haven't invested in.

(10) Notes to me. In this case, reminding me that I need to visit my older daughter with an application that lets her see the current weather conditions. (Some people just look out the window.)

(11) As I write this, I'm listening to Chumbawamba, a group of British anarchist singers. This widget displays the text to the selection I'm listening to.

(12) An RSS feed of current headlines.

(13) The currnet lowest price of gasoline within 5 miles of where I live.

(14) Quick access to Google.

(15) A converter that shows a number in binary, octal, decimal, and hex.

(16) A widget that shows how may files are in the recycle bin.

Wretched excess? Yes, we can do that. See an example here. >>>>>>>

Obtaining widgets

Widget files seem to be zipped files that contain graphics and some XML code. I haven't looked into the file format closer than that yet. Unfortunately, there are differences between widgets intended for use natively on OS X and in Konfabulator. There are, of course, differences between widgets witten for Windows and those written for OS X, particularly with widgets that deal with system-level information, such as how much memory is in use.

Widgets are fun and useful. That's probably why Apple borrowed the idea from Pixoria.

Technology corner rating for KONFABULATOR

EIGHT CATS: Apple may have "borrowed" the idea, but Pixoria invented the technology. And if you want widgets but don't own a Mac, this is a good way to get them. Visit the Konfabulator website for more information.

How the Technology Corner rating system works.

Firewalls (again)

For several years, I have recommended Zone Alarm by Zone Labs, but I've had to re-think that lately. There's apparently a problem ("issue" in newspeak) for those who have Zone Alarm installed and also use a certain Internet service provider that must not be named as their ISP.

But a firewall is necessary. If Zone Alarm creates problems, it's time to look at alternatives. The three best known personal software firewalls are Zone Alarm, Sygate's personal firewall, and Kerio's personal firewall. All three have free versions and all three have paid versions that offer additional functionality.

Zone Alarm

I've talked about Zone Alarm several times previously and have used it exclusivly for years. It's a solid application that does what it's supposed to do. If it doesn't get in your way, it's an excellent choice.

The problem for me is that it got in my way by cutting transmission speed in half. When I wrote to tech support at Zone Labs, I never received an answer and that's more than a little concerning for an application as important as a firewall.

I don't know of Sygate's or Kerio's support is any better because I didn't need it. And I still feel that Zone Alarm's solution is the least bothersome of the three primary firewalls. Unfortunately, for me it just doesn't work these days.

The free version of Zone Alarm has some limitations that may get in the way if you're operating on a LAN.

Zone Labs website.

Technology corner rating for ZONE ALARM FIREWALL

SEVEN CATS: This is a significant drop from past ratings, mainly because my request for technical support was never answered. The application itself is good and for years Zone Alarm was the only software firewall I used. If not for the problem with a certain Internet service provider that must not be named and Zone Alarm, I would probably still be using it.

How the Technology Corner rating system works.

Kerio personal firewall

When I formatted the C drive on my primary computer and reinstalled the operating system (see below) I installed Kerio's personal firewall in a non-verbose mode. It rarely bothers me with a question and I haven't yet determined whether this is good or bad.

The problem with not bothering me is that the firewall might make the wrong decision, or at least a decision that I wouldn't make.

For example, when I install a new version of an application, Kerio now just assumes that it's OK. I would prefer that it ask me when one application replaces another because a bad application could replace a known good application with rogue software and if the firewall doesn't alert me, what's the point of having a firewall?

This problem likely isn't as dangerous as it seems. Kerio would apply the "existing rule" to a replaced application, meaning that if a trusted application suddenly wanted to start chattering on an unexpeced port, the firewall would ask.

On the notebook computer, I'm using the Kerio firewall in verbose mode and it's incessently asking for my permission to do something. Unfortunately, there seems is no obvious way to turn this off, despite claims to the contrary during the installation process.

The Kerio Personal Firewall will operate for 30 days in "professional" mode and will then revert (after bugging you many, many times) to the free version. If the company offers a free version, they should allow the user to choose that version and download it.

Kerio website.

Technology corner rating for KERIO PERSONAL FIREWALL

SEVEN CATS: When the Kerio firewall talks, it talks too much. When it's quiet, it's too quiet. I'd like to see the kind of alerts that Zone Alarm generated. They seemed to be just about right -- not too intrusive, but always there when something changed.

How the Technology Corner rating system works.

Sygate Personal Firewall

Sygate is another major player in the firewall business and they have a personal firewall that's free for home use.

Although I haven't extnesively tested this product, the free version seems to have the essential features.

Sygate website.

There is no cat rating for the Sygate Personal Firewall because I don't have sufficient experience with it to rate it.

Nerdly News

No more Ipods ... from HP

Hewlett-Packard says it will stop selling Apple Computer's Ipod portable music players under its own name. The alliance between the two companies puzzled a lot of people from the beginning, which wasn't all that long ago.

Apple says HP's new chief executive, Mark Hurd, had decided that Ipods don't fit into HP's strategy. The company is trying to simplify and streamline itself and Ipods were probably too much of a distraction. Former star Carly Fiorina thought the deal was a major milestone for HP. But HP-branded Ipods accounted for only 5% of sales. Carly apparently never asked herself why anyone would want an Ipod with HP's name on it whe, for the same price, they could get an Ipod with Apple's name on it.

Under the original deal, promised not to develop and sell its own digital music player to compete with iPod until August 2006. Apparently there are no plans to develop one now. The company has apparently decided to concentrate on its core business.

Are you being exploited?

The University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center says most people don't have a clue how the Internet works and, in this case, what they don't know can hurt them.

"Open to Exploitation: American Shoppers Online and Offline" questioned 1500 Internet users in the US, asking true-false questions (50% chance of getting the right answer by guessing) and on average, respondents got only 6.7 answers right from the 17 questions asked.

For example:

• 75% wrongly believe that if a website has a privacy policy, it will not share information with third parties.
• 49% can't identify "phishing" scam e-mail messages, which fraudsters use to obtain bank and credit card information.
• 62% of respondents don't know that an online store can simultaneously charge different prices for the same item based on information it has on different shoppers.

The study's developers have suggested 3 measures to address the problem:

• The Federal Trade Commission should mandate that websites replace the term "Privacy Policy" with "Using Your Information". They say this will reduce the misconception that all privacy statements promise privacy.
• Consumer education and media literacy should be taught in, starting in elementary school. [Critical thinking might be useful, too, instead of teaching students to soak up information, regurgitate it, and then forget it -- but then what do I know! -Blinn]
• The federal government should force online retailers to disclose what data they have collected about customers, and when and how they will use that data.

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Joe Bradley --

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(Photo by Sally)

Bill

(Photo by Scampi)

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