Tech

Tech-focused ramblings. Computers, blogs, and whatever else fits.

Credit where credit is due

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Wil’s request for a WMV-to-Qicktime converter reminded me of something that I’ve had rattling around in my head for a bit.

I’m fairly obvious about having a strong anti-Microsoft bias. However, I do have to admit (and really don’t mind doing so) that the Macintosh team at Microsoft does some truly kick-ass work. Nearly everything that MS has produced for the Mac in the past few years has been fairly impressive. Even with as much as I bash Internet Explorer in all its variations, when IE 5 for Mac OS X was released, it was the best browser on the market. The fact that it’s since been superceded by other browsers and subsequently abandoned by Microsoft isn’t the fault of the Mac team there, I’m sure.

What popped this into my head a couple weeks ago was, of all things, the driver software for the Microsoft Office keyboard, Intellitype Pro. Where the PC version of the software is its own standalone application, the Mac version of the software integrates right into the OS X control panel. More of a standout feature, though, is the fact that on the Mac, you can assign special functions to all the extra special keys on an application-by-application basis — something which I hardly thought about until I tried to do the same thing on my PC and discovered that it wasn’t possible. Score one more for the Mac team.

All that said, though, there is one glaring exception to the rule — and that’s the Mac version of Windows Media Player. Horrid little application, that one. I’m more surprised when I find a .wmv file that it can open, and even then, performace (at least on my 350Mhz G3) is abysmal. At least that’s the only stumbling block I’ve seen from them. I can’t say that I’m too distraught over having limited-to-nonexistant Windows Media functionality on my Mac, anyway.

So, that’s it, really. Kudos to the Microsoft at Mac team. Now, why don’t you all go tell the rest of the company how to write decent software? ;)

(Oh, and incidentally, I was also looking for a WMV-to-Quicktime converter a couple weeks ago, and found diddley.)

Matrix/Web

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This is cute — an introduction to CSS-based website design, Matrix style.

Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know you can’t explain but you feel it, that there’s something wrong with the web. You don’t know what it is but it’s there like a splinter in your mind driving you mad.

You can see it when you look out your browser window or when you turn on your web tv. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes.

This is the web that you know. The web as it was at the end of the twentieth century.

This is the web as it exists today…

Welcome To The Desert Of The Web

(via WebGraphics)

Bugfixes are good

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Well, that was a nice surprise. I just updated my Mac to OS X 10.2.8, and on restart, discovered a bug fix.

I’ve had an issue for a while now with my iPod where if I restart the machine with the iPod plugged in, it doesn’t behave correctly after the restart. It will mount to the Finder fine, but iTunes and iSync don’t recognize it at all. The only fix is to unmount and unplug it, shut down the machine, and then unplug the machine’s power cord and let it sit for five minutes before powering it on again — apparently this will clear a frozen FireWire port.

I forgot to unplug the iPod after installing the update tonight, though, and was pleasantly surprised to see iSync and iTunes launching after login, indicating that they saw the iPod without a hitch. Nice!

My eyes! My eyes!

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Until right now, I had no idea that there even was a CSS declaration for text-decoration: blink. I wish I hadn’t found out that it existed the hard way.

Hasn’t use of the ‘blink’ tag been outlawed by now? The worst part is, the rest of the design isn’t shabby at all, which just makes the gratuitously annoying blinking stand out by comparison. Ugh.

(via Will)

Weblog Ethics

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Rebecca Blood has an excerpt from her book The Weblog Handbook posted dealing with weblog ethics that’s well worth looking at. I do my best to abide by these rules — to me, most of them are pure common sense — but it’s not a bad idea to occasionally refresh the concept in your mind.

  1. Publish as fact only that which you believe to be true.
  2. If material exists online, link to it when you reference it.
  3. Publicly correct any misinformation.
  4. Write each entry as if it could not be changed; add to, but do not rewrite or delete, any entry.
  5. Disclose any conflict of interest.
  6. Note questionable and biased sources.

PCs are Voodoo

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Well, that was entertaining. In roughly the same way that playing rugby against a team of rabid hyenas is entertaining, but entertaining none the less.

I just spent most of the past hour deciphering IDE cables, master/slave jumper settings, and USB vs. serial keyboards in order to get my PC configured the way I wanted it. The end result is good (the 6GB drive is C:, a 4GB drive I had in my closet from when my iMac died is D:, and the 2GB drive is E:, which should make the CD-ROM F:, I suppose), and I’m in the process of getting Windows 2000 installed (for the third time in three days) on the 6GB drive. Success — but quite a few headaches in the process. And people keep trying to convince me that Wintel PCs are “as easy as” Macs these days?

Puh-leeeze.

However, in the midst of all this, I did figure out my issue with the 2GB drive from yesterday. It turns out that if you boot off the Windows 2000 CD-ROM, the setup utility will let you wipe a system partition. The problem I was having was that since the DOS level didn’t have USB drivers, I couldn’t “hit any key” to tell the BIOS boot menu to boot from the CD, so it was always booting off the drive — which explains why it then refused to nuke the drive. Once I found and plugged in my “old-school” serial keyboard, I was able to hit the “any” key, boot from the CD, and proceed with everything I wanted to do in the first place.

Once I did that, while I was poking around in the BIOS menus, I found an option to “enable USB in DOS” (or some such wording) that may allow me to use the USB keyboard at the DOS-level menus…but I discovered it too late in the process to know for sure. Still, it might help in the future if I have to go through all this again.

But for now, Windows 2000 is installing, and I’ve got one Meat Lovers’ and one Hawaiian pizza sitting on my bed calling my name.

Update: Things I learned that I want to record here for future use…

  • Special IDE cables are needed to use the ‘cable select’ jumper setting on IDE devices. I don’t have those cables. ‘Cable select’ doesn’t work.
  • When two devices are on an IDE bus, the master device should be at the far end of the cable, and the slave device should be at the middle of the cable.
  • Windows 2000 (and, presumably, other versions of Windows) needs to write some boot information to the first available drive — usually the master drive on the first IDE bus (drive 0 on bus 0 in my BIOS screen) — even if you’re trying to install Windows on a different drive. It’s best to make sure that you’re installing the OS on that first drive. If you install the OS on a different drive, then when you use fdisk to format the first drive on the first IDE bus, then Windows will fail to boot as you’ve just nuked those boot files. This is a bad thing™.

Notable me

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TypadistasNifty — I just got picked as a ‘Notable’ site on the Typadistas directory!

And while it’s really, really geeky, I love the fact that she complimented me on my source code (hey, like I said, it’s really geeky). I actually put a bit of effort into making sure that my code is clean, well-structured, and easily readable — not only does it help me when coding and debugging, but I figure it might also help others looking for examples (which is a large part of how I learned in the first place). Always nice to know that someone appreciates that!

New PowerBooks!

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Well, it finally happened — Apple has finally updated their PowerBook line (Apple’s page isn’t updated yet, though — Steve’s still onstage giving the keynote speech at the Europe Apple Expo).

~~Since the keynote is still in progress, details are a bit sketchy, but~~

Here’s some key points of what MacRumors has posted so far:

  • The G5 will hit 3Ghz by the end of summer ’04.
  • iChat is based on standards and should be compatible with Windows software soon.
  • New 17\” PowerBook: 1.33GHz, 2GB RAM Max, \$2999. Mobility Radeon 9600. 2x Superdrive.
  • New 12\” PowerBook: 1GHz with 512k Cache, \$1599. GeForce FX GO, USB 2.0. Both available today. \$1799 12\”/Superdrive.
  • New 15\” PowerBook: Aluminum. Slot Loading Drive. Backlit Keyboard. 15.2\” TFT. 1.25GHz, G4. Up to 2GB DDR RAM 333MHz. Radeon Mobility, DVI, FW800, 2 USB, Airport Extreme. \$1999 Combodrive model. Superdrive for \$2599. One config has 1GHz, 60GB, 256MB. 1.25GHz has 512MB RAM and 80GB HD.
  • A New mouse and keyboard. No wire, but bluetooth. adaptive frequency hopping – a new technology to keep a better connection. 128-bit encryption.

Update:

Added links to Apple official product info pages and replaced Euro pricing with USD pricing.

A question for Windows experts

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Or at least, people who are more familiar with the intricacies of Windows 2000 than I am.

Here’s the short version: Why can’t I delete a partition from within the Windows 2000 setup utility?

Here’s the long version:

I’m in the midst of nuking and paving (wiping and reinstalling) my Windows box, running Windows 2000. The machine has two physical hard drives in it — a 2GB drive and a 6GB drive. Under my previous setup, I had the 2GB drive mapped to C:, and the 6GB drive partitioned into 4GB for D: (for documents and downloads), 1.5GB for E: (for applications), and 500MB for F: (for a scratch/temp disk). The thinking at the time (since I’m far more used to the Mac) was that I’d be able to reinstall Windows on the C: partition if it had issues, and I wouldn’t risk either losing my documents or having to reinstall my applications, as they were on seperate partitions. Of course, on Windows, it’s not that easy, as so many applications tie into the registry, so over time, I decided to ditch that scheme.

So now I’m working on the reinstall. While in the Windows 2000 setup utility, I’m given the option of deleting and recreating partitions on my drives. My plan was to essentially flip-flop things around — use the 6GB drive as my Windows 2000 system and application partition, and the 2GB drive for documents and downloads. So, I happily nuked all the partitions on the 6GB drive and created one single large partition across the entire drive. However, for some reason, the 2GB drive seems to be locked down — I can’t delete that partition at all.

Okay, so I figured maybe that was because I’d started the reinstall process by booting off that drive, and since the installer copied a few files onto the drive for the install before restarting and dumping me into the DOS-based setup utility, it couldn’t wipe that drive as it would end up wiping those files. So, once Windows was installed and I rebooted from the new installation, I tried reformatting the 2GB drive from within Windows, and it still won’t do it. The 2GB drive (still C:, but not booting from it) has the designation ‘System’ visible in the Drive Manager (or whatever that window is called — I’m going from memory on that right now), and the 6GB drive (D:, booting Windows 2000) is designated ‘Startup’. Obviously, the Startup drive shouldn’t be nukeable, but I’m not too sure why the 2GB drive has the ‘System’ label, or why it’s still locked down.

In one final guess, I went back into the Windows 2000 setup utility, this time starting the process after booting from the new install on the 6GB (D:) drive. I wasn’t sure this would work, but I figured it was worth a shot, guessing that the lower-level system hooks of the setup utility would be better able to muck with the drives, and this time it wouldn’t be copying any setup files onto the drive I intended to nuke. Unfortunately, that didn’t make a difference — the setup utility still stubbornly refuses to let me reformat the 2GB drive. And, once I’d started the setup process, I couldn’t get out of it, so now I’m starting over from scratch (which is why I was going from memory in the previous paragraph).

So, now I’ve got a 2GB drive which is essentially useless to me, as I can’t remove the installation of Windows 2000 from the drive to either just put the new install of Windows 2000 on that drive (which I’d rather avoid, as these days 2GB is fairly limiting for both the system and applications) or to use it for my documents and downloads.

Anybody out there know how I can reclaim those 2GB of space?

Abbott and Costello in Computerland

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Okay, one last thing before I head off to work. Dad sent me this today, and I damn near fell off my chair laughing at it…

Abbott and Costello in Computerland

[ring…ring…click]

ABBOTT: Ultimate Super Duper Computer Store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: Thanks. I’m setting up a home office in the den, and I’m thinking of buying a computer.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: No, the name is Lou.

ABBOTT: Your computer?

COSTELLO: I don’t own a computer. I want to buy one.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: I told you, my name is Lou.

ABBOTT: What about Windows?

COSTELLO: Why? Does it get stuffy?

ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?

COSTELLO: I don’t know. What do I see when I look out the windows?

ABBOTT: Wallpaper.

COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.

ABBOTT: Software that runs on Windows?

COSTELLO: No, on the computer! I need something I can use to write proposals, track expenses. You know, run a business. What have you got?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?

ABBOTT: I just did.

COSTELLO: You just did what?

ABBOTT: Recommended something.

COSTELLO: You recommended something?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: For my office?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: Okay, what did you recommend for my office?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yes, for my office.

ABBOTT: Office for Windows.

COSTELLO: I already have an office and it already has windows! Let’s say I’m sitting at my computer, and I want to type a proposal. What do I need?

ABBOTT: Word.

COSTELLO: If I’m writing a proposal, I’m going to need lots of words. But what program do I load?

ABBOTT: Word.

COSTELLO: What word?

ABBOTT: The Word in Office.

COSTELLO: The only word in office is office.

ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.

COSTELLO: Which word in “office for windows?”

ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue W.

COSTELLO: I’m going to click your big W if you don’t give me a straight answer. Let’s forget about words for a minute. What do I need if I want to watch a movie over the Internet?

ABBOTT: RealOne.

COSTELLO: Maybe a real movie, maybe a cartoon. What I watch is none of your business. But what do I need to watch it?

ABBOTT: RealOne.

COSTELLO: If it’s a long movie I’ll also want to watch reels two, three and four. Can I watch reel four?

ABBOTT: Of course.

COSTELLO: Great! With what?

ABBOTT: RealOne.

COSTELLO: Okay, so I’m sitting at my computer and I want to watch a movie. What do I do?

ABBOTT: You click the blue 1.

COSTELLO: I click the blue one what?

ABBOTT: The blue 1.

COSTELLO: Is that different from the blue W?

ABBOTT: Of course it is. The blue 1 is RealOne. The blue W is Word.

COSTELLO: What word?

ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.

COSTELLO: But there’s three words in “office for windows!”

ABBOTT: No, just one. But it’s the most popular Word in the world.

COSTELLO: It is?

ABBOTT: Yes, although to be fair there aren’t many other Words left. It pretty much wiped out all the other Words.

COSTELLO: And that word is the real one?

ABBOTT: No. RealOne has nothing to do with Word. RealOne isn’t even part of Office.

COSTELLO: Never mind; I don’t want to get started with that again. But I also need something for bank accounts, loans, and so on. What do you have to help me track my money?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: That’s right. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?

ABBOTT: No, not really. It comes bundled with your computer.

COSTELLO: What comes bundled with my computer?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: Money comes bundled with my computer?

ABBOTT: Exactly. No extra charge.

COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer at no extra charge? How much money do I get?

ABBOTT: Just one copy.

COSTELLO: I get a copy of money. Isn’t that illegal?

ABBOTT: No. We have a license from Microsoft to make copies of Money.

COSTELLO: Microsoft can license you to make money?

ABBOTT: Why not? They own it.

COSTELLO: Well, it’s great that I’m going to get free money, but I’ll still need to track it. Do you have anything for managing your money?

ABBOTT: Managing Your Money? That program disappeared years ago.

COSTELLO: Well, what do you sell in its place?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: You sell money?

ABBOTT: Of course. But if you buy a computer from us, you get it for free.

COSTELLO: That’s all very wonderful, but I’ll be running a business. Do you have any software for, you know, accounting?

ABBOTT: Simply Accounting.

COSTELLO: Probably, but it might get a little complicated.

ABBOTT: If you don’t want Simply Accounting, you might try M.Y.O.B.

COSTELLO: M.Y.O.B.? What does that stand for?

ABBOTT: Mind Your Own Business.

COSTELLO: I beg your pardon?

ABBOTT: No, that would be I.B.Y.P. I said M.Y.O.B.

COSTELLO: Look, I just need to do some accounting for my home business. You know–accounting? You do it with money.

ABBOTT: Of course you can do accounting with Money. But you may need more.

COSTELLO: More money?

ABBOTT: More than Money. Money can’t do everything.

COSTELLO: I don’t need a sermon! Okay, let’s forget about money for the moment. I’m worried that my computer might…what’s the word? Crash. And if my computer crashes, what can I use to restore my data?

ABBOTT: GoBack.

COSTELLO: Okay. I’m worried about my computer smashing and I need something to restore my data. What do you recommend?

ABBOTT: Go Back.

COSTELLO: How many times do I have to repeat myself?

ABBOTT: I’ve never asked you to repeat yourself. All I said was GoBack.

COSTELLO: How can I go back if I haven’t even been anywhere? Okay, I’ll go back. What do I need to write a proposal?

ABBOTT: Word.

COSTELLO: But I’ll need lots of words to write a proposal.

ABBOTT: No, you only need one Word–the Word in Office for Windows.

COSTELLO: But there’s three words in…Oh, never mind.

[click]

ABBOTT: Hello? Hello? Customers! Why do they always hang up on me? Oh, well. Ultimate SuperDuper Computer Store. Can I help you?

Thanks dad!