Doc's Place: Computer and Internet

Mozilla Firefox 3, Final Release: Download Day.

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 03:14:20 GMT

The new Firefox 3 web browser is to be released on the official Mozilla Download Day, Tuesday, June 17, 2008. An informative article about this release and Microsoft’s rapid effort to catch-up using IE-8 was recently published by PC World. I strongly suggest that you download Firefox 3 directly from a Mozilla site. As I write, this site is still devoted to the download of Firefox 2.0.0.14, however.

The good people on the Firefox 3 project are trying to set a Guinness World Record for downloading software in a single day. My best guess is that they will achieve this, because there is currently no such record in existence.

More importantly, I recently tried to download Release Candidate 3 of Firefox from other sites, and while beginning to install, they displayed instructions in a language which I did not recognize. These were reputable sites, but something was clearly going awry.

While you are downloading this excellent browser, I would also suggest looking over more of Mozilla’s software and other offerings.

A Field Guide to Foxfire 3 by Debra Lyn Richardson is available at her WordPress site and should definitely be referred to for many technical details, feature descriptions, and links.

Peace, Doc

T'd Off

Fri, 23 May 2008 19:05:18 GMT

I am not certain from whence the expression "T'd Off" is derived. I searched several places and was directed to golf-related sites. That's quite understandable if it is a contraction or an alternate spelling of "teed off." What I didn't find, however is how it became a description of a state of anger. Possibly it took on that meaning as many golfers seem to become agitated following their first whack at the ball. Again, it may be a shortened version of "ticked off," but then I am left with where that expression came from. Possibly from MYST?

I suppose it doesn't really matter, because I am about to add still another definition. It does have mild anger and puzzlement in common with the other meanings, but it can be interpreted a little more literally. The "T" key top fell off my laptop's keyboard. That was somewhat disconcerting as I like T's and use them quite frequently.

Under the key top is a little folding plastic hinge with a hole shape cut out of the center. A conductive rubbery "pyramid" fits into this hole and acts both to make contact with the PC board when the key is pressed, and to raise the key top back to normal position when released. It is attached to the key top more permanently than to the PC board beneath it. When the key falls off (or is pulled off, or gets so much junk and cat hair under it that it breaks, etc.,) one finds the T key in one's lap, along with its little plastic ironing board feet. The problem comes when one realizes that the wee rubber pyramid has taken off for parts unknown. They are tiny, elusive creations; small enough to hide almost anywhere and bouncy enough to travel much farther than one might believe possible.

I have learned that a good way of finding small objects that have fallen to the floor is to shine a flashlight (on its side and on the floor) around to make small objects stand out more clearly from the surface. The most worrisome portion of this process for me, is when the cats notice Dad lying on the floor, shining a light around, and decide that this is a laser game in which they expect to participate. The problem then changes from finding the part to finding it before The Boys do. I was lucky. I found it first, sort of blending in with an oriental rug. Yay for me! Following the few milliseconds of elation after discovering the part, however, comes the realization that one is still left with a key top with broken "ironing board" feet, a small piece of rubber, and very little idea of how one might fix the problem.

Of course I immediately resorted to one of the universal repairs for nearly anything - duct tape. After an incredible amount of experimenting and positioning the broken pieces, it worked (intermittently.) During this repair, I found that using an opaque tape, I could not see the keys on either side of the T. For a two-finger typist like me, this is a big problem. I couldn't see the R or the Y. Had I thought of it, I could have simply written the letters on the duct tape with a Rub-A-Dub laundry marker. Somehow, simple solutions frequently elude me. The tape was changed to a clear version, the parts repositioned, and the T again worked (intermittently.) At least it now works well enough to use. As I view it, I now have three choices as to how to repair it more permanently. First I will try to buy a replacement key kit (if such are made,) Then I may simply interchange the T key with the "pg up" or "pg dn" keys as they are all the same size and I never use those keys. If all else fails and I have to spend money, I'll replace the keyboard. Why couldn't it have been the "caps lock" key? I hate the caps lock key.

Peace, Doc

"Angry Statement: Master if you repair me in this pathetic manner again I will Destroy your planet! - HK-47 (Star Wars Assassin Droid)

Air Force Aims For Full Control Of Any And All Computers

Thu, 15 May 2008 18:51:17 GMT

Does that read too much like a scare headline from the Far Left? It isn't. Wired News online reports that the US Air Force itself has made it. In an April 13, 2008 article by Noah Schachtman, it is stated that:

The Air Force wants a suite of hacker tools, to give it "access" to -- and "full control" of -- any kind of computer there is. And once the info warriors are in, the Air Force wants them to keep tabs on their "adversaries' information infrastructure completely undetected."

The US Air Force Cyber Command is already being developed. Its website has many articles, pictures, FAQ's, and a countdown timer to "phase one stand up" on October 1, 2008.

I have included links to both the Wired article and to the Air Force website to allow readers to judge for themselves where we are headed. Most of my regular readers know that I border on the paranoid in my responses to be watched by recording cameras at stoplights, at toll road transponder lanes, and on our streets and intersections. I strongly object to being listened to, phone tapped, having my mail read, or just generally being observed in any manner unless someone has reason to believe I am committing a crime or am planning one.

On the other side of this topic, I want my government to protect me - from criminals, from street muggers to multi-national corporate muggers, from enemies foreign and domestic, to preserve our constitution, and defend our land. I appreciate the brave people in the military services and in the public sectors who serve us and take care of us so well and who we too often take for granted.

At a deeply frightened level, I know that a current "World War III" would be fought like no other. China has demonstrated to us their ability to blind and disorient our spy and navigation satellites by shooting down one of their own. In turn, our "accidental" transport of six W80-1 variable yield live nuclear warheads From Minot AFB in ND to Barksdale AFB in LA was given much more publicity than I would expect any military organization to allow the media. I do not see these incidents as unique, or even highly significant in the bigger picture, of which the public sees only tiny fragments through a glass, darkly. If an enemy had unfettered access to any of the Internets or grids that control our distribution of electricity, natural gas, vehicle fuel, traffic and transportation flow, food and water distribution, public and military communications, financial tractions (commercial, investment, and banking,) ... well, you get the picture. Our nation would be brought to its knees in a grinding, chaotic halt. In a much more localized manner, the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) of a conventional atomic weapon or an "E-Bomb" destroys MOSFETs, FETs, transistors, and the like if not Faraday shielded, thus disabling electronic devices in the area of the explosion. The government and Military knows this in infinitely greater detail than do I.

On a personal, much less significant level, I have been affected wrongly by the same type of capabilities as are needed to defend our nation. I sold a car to a friend who ran through four "I-Pass" toll stops without paying. I received a ticket for four infractions, complete with a very clear picture of the back of the car with my plates still on it, and a statement that not being the driver was no excuse for not paying the tickets. In another incident, Medicare gave the Veterans Health Administration all of my personal and business information (including SSN, EIN, bank routing numbers, addresses, etc.) without any notification to me. I found this out when the VHA notified me that a portable hard drive with this information on it was missing. At least they had the decency to notify me and provide for one year of credit fraud alerts. I have no doubt that, despite the precautions I take personally, this type of information has been lost, discarded, or stolen far more times than I am aware. As a simple example of the laxity of transactions in the area of credit, I have written "Require Photo ID" on all my cards, along with my signature. It has been checked only once in approximately 10 years.

So what do we do and where do we go with this sort of information? I honestly do not know. The same technology that protects us can destroy us. The same types of devices that allow surveillance of criminals, terrorists, and enemy actions are easily able to be turned on a country's own law abiding citizens. It is, after all, so very much easier to listen in on our own cell phone conversations and take pictures of our own license plates than it is to definitely identify what is happening in an enemy's hardened military site or know if a satellite is armed and has military capabilities.

*sigh*

Peace, Doc

"We realize our dilemma goes deeper than shortage of time; it is basically a problem of priorities. We confess, We have left undone those things that ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done." - Charles E. Hummel

Save Windows XP

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 03:05:40 GMT

The sale of Windows XP to the public is due to be totally discontinued by Microsoft on June 30, 2008. Support for it will continue via automatic or manual update, but it will be unavailable for purchase. The vast majority of computer manufacturers have switched to "forcing" Vista on the buyer of new computers because that is the only Operating System MS will provide to them (except for relenting to some business customers who loudly and forcefully complained that Vista didn't work.) A very few, small, specialized "white box" computer manufacturers (generally of ultra-fast, high-end gaming computers) have been allowed to continue new installs of XP. One can also still buy the shrink wrapped, boxed software to install Win XP on your own if you are building your computer. Some are going to dual-boot computers, using XP and another OS on separate hard drives.

Even this set of dates has been atypical for Microsoft, which has left XP in production and available to manufacturers over a year longer than previous Operating Systems. There are also industry rumors that Microsoft is pushing very hard to have an early release date for OS 7, the system that is to replace Vista, in the second half of 2009. Enough problems, including lawsuits over proprietary rights, have reduced Vista from what was originally "promised" to a substantially less desirable OS. About the only positive things I have found written about Vista is that it has a prettier desktop and is "safer" online. Clearly, they are concerned about Vista sales, already have issued a Service Pack for it, and are trying to produce a better system as quickly as possible.

Many individuals and business users have resisted the adoption of Vista due to a variety of compatibility problems, system investment, and the generally much heavier draw that the Vista OS places on the computer's resources. More and faster memory and system resources are usually necessary. I have seen minimum specifications that state one Gigabyte of RAM is a minimum requirement. Reviews that I have read, however, strongly suggest that three to four Gigabytes is the "real" minimum for Vista to work correctly. Faster hard drives and more powerful CPU chips are also required for acceptable performance. Problems with finding appropriate "driver" software to interface your older peripheral hardware have frequently occurred.

So, what is it that I would ask you to do about this? Go to InfoWorld's Save Windows XP site and sign the petition requesting Microsoft to continue production of XP. It takes nothing away from anyone that wants, prefers, or needs Vista, but allows XP devotees to continue to be able to purchase current equipment that suits their wants and needs. What will I do? I've already signed the petition and read a fair amount about the subject. I have a Maxtor backup drive that saves everything on a computer, including the OS, as a complete clone if you tell it to (so I could transfer this whole system onto a new, bigger, better hard drive.) I'm considering buying the boxed XP software on June 25th or thereabouts. In an ideal world, I would have the funds to buy a quad-core monster of a PC from one of the white box builders. But if everything else fails, I still have a Win 98SE box that works.

Peace, Doc

New Blogging Danger Discovered!

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 00:26:33 GMT

A new warning may soon be issued by all laptop computer manufacturers and the moguls of the recliner chair industry. We are already warned of the perils of using plastic bags as toys, not using the computer in the bathtub or near water, and the possibilities of the chair tipping over if one stands on it, or relaxes too hard or too quickly. I have discovered yet another legitimate cause for concern and shall report it to anyone who will attend to my natterings.

The basic danger stems from the design of the recliner chair itself. In order for the footrest action of the chair to work properly, a mechanical system of thin, moveable steel bars and pivot points is required. When the back of the chair is pushed toward a reclining position, the footrest rises into position to support the user's legs. The reverse action occurs when the occupant desires to sit upright or to arise from the chair. One might reasonably ask, "What's wrong with that? That's what it's supposed to do."

I will, of course, tell you. You don't believe I'd get this far into a perfectly good rant without complaining about something specific, do you? The danger arises when the laptop computer and the collapsing action of the chair required for the user to arise happen concurrently. I dislike resorting to the use of hyperbole or fear-mongering, but I must state that the scissor-like action of the mechanism attached to the footrest presents a real and present danger to those of us who use a laptop, with power supply and Cat-5 Ethernet cables attached, while seated and blogging in blissful ignorance.

Very recently, while arising quickly from the chair, I discovered the more personal and real-world meaning of the phrase "scissor-like action," when used in this context. The wires pass close to the footrest mechanism, and in this case, became entangled in it. ... The power cord was repaired easily enough with a soldering pencil and some heat-shrink tubing. It was quite a cleanly sheared cut, actually. The Cat-5 Ethernet cable, however, required replacement. Uh-huh. I did that.

Peace, Doc

"Stupid is as stupid does." - Forrest Gump

Firefox Is Back And I'm Gonna Have A Party!

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 07:31:00 GMT

Some things make me quite cranky and obsessive, indeed. One of those things happened on Monday. Somehow, I lost Firefox. The browser would load and display itself but would not connect to the Internet. Sometimes, like its owner, this computer becomes a little unstable and ... just does unexpected things. I would say I had no idea what caused this malfunction, but I really had about 20.

The first idea on my list was that Comcast might have done something "funny." Its toolbar will only install on IE7, so that's where I started. I switched to IE7 and was again in contact with the world, albeit at what seemed like a snail's pace. OK. I knew the computer could access the web sometimes. My next thought was that I had installed and removed several minor programs, any of which could conceivably have caused a problem. I also had done both a disk defrag and a registry defrag with software which came from a very reputable company, but I had no idea where the little 1's and 0's might have been placed. I did a sys restore to no effect other than moving a few icons on the desktop. I deleted several apps to DOD standards (seven overwrites of the data), but the problem remained. I ran every security program I have (at least 10) from rootkit searches to anti-virus scans to ad removers and spyware scans. I found nothing that I didn't already know was present. Even the low risk items were then quarantined or deleted, however. Still no Firefox.

At that point I decided to be tricky and try something different. I disconnected the cable service and plugged into dial-up. Everything else worked, but still no Firefox. Drat! There went my theories about the cable provider changing something. Somewhere during all this poking of keys and rebooting, I fell asleep. That was just as well, because I probably would have just continued to poke at things until I killed the computer. When I awoke, somewhat refreshed but crabby from a dream I had (which will be my next post,) I went back to work on the problem. I was at the point of downloading Opera or Safari to see if they would work, but I didn't want to do anything traumatic to the HP.

Trying to find Firefox help while using IE7 didn't work so well, and using what help Firefox could provide without being connected to the net was relative useless. It explained clearly what the acronym "URL" stood for and explained what the proxy - client relationship is. That is when I began semi-randomly poking keys and header tools. It is also when I solved the problem. I truly hate to admit how simple the solution was, once I stumbled upon it. It seemed reasonable to use the Firefox "tools" that were available. When I got down the list of options to "options," a screen opened with many, well ... options. I made my way through them until I hit upon "advanced options, network, connection." I proceeded to take the ultimate risk and poked "advanced network connection settings." Nothing blew up and I was given four choices. Although I felt that I was tempting fate to switch from the current setting to "Auto-detect proxy settings for this network," I did it. Firefox came online immediately.

I still have no idea what caused the problem to begin with, but I was absolutely thrilled to have solved the problem all by myself. This elation lasted just long enough for me to figure out that anyone who actually knew what they were doing would likely have tried this as a first or second choice in resolving the situation. I believe it was then that I uncovered another of those inconvenient, but basic truths of life. It is extremely difficult to feel elated and incompetent at the same time.

Peace, Doc

Firefox 3, beta 4 is available for free download, but I'm not quite recovered enough from this trauma to install it yet. Another portable version of Firefox 3, beta 4 is available as a free download with the feature of being able to install it on your USB thumb drive and test it without affecting the operation of your current version of Firefox 2, whatever version. That isn't my usual quote, but is likely to prove much more valuable to those who are interested. I might actually attempt that, as it has been downloaded and the installation icon is just sitting there on the desktop mocking me.

Caution! Addictive Sites Ahead.

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 15:45:52 GMT

When I am not lost in deep thoughts about such things as whether to spray flat black paint on the speaker grilles (currently stained and brownish in color,) whether a Waterford crystal lamp really belongs next to a forged aluminum stuffer piston on the bookcase, or when was the last time I changed the cat litter, I sometimes surf the Internet. This usually does not occur for more than 23.5 hours per day, however. I have convinced myself I am doing research, and on rare occasions, I actually am. I have encountered a few sites that I should warn you away from, lest you become as dependent as I, and suffer withdrawal symptoms.

One such site is MakeUseOf.com which describes itself as "Cool Websites, Software, and Internet Tips." Its self-description significantly underrates it. Perhaps this is purposefully done. I did mention that we are discussing dangerously addictive sites, here, didn't I?

Another site that should require a prescription is Digital Inspiration. It even more self-effacingly describes itself as "Your personal technology guide." It is much more than that.

A third site to be cautious with is Lifehacker, which describes itself as having "tech tricks, tips, and downloads for getting thing done." Yet another major understatement has been made.

All of these sites appear to be virus free in their downloads and are exceptionally informative in a manner that most people with some comprehension of computers can understand. Other sites that should be visited with as much caution as one would approach chocolate covered caffeine nuggets are SourceForge.net, Think Geek, Slashdot, and Boing Boing. These sites are much alike in dealing with the world of technology in one way or another, but very different in their approach and style. I can't choose a "winner" because they are all fascinating.

Peace, Doc

Computer addiction or Dependency is defined by Wikipedia. It is also noted that, "In 2004 the Finnish Defence Forces revealed that they allow some conscripts to postpone their military service for three years due to dependence on computer games and the Internet." - Wikipedia