The Tech Closet

Remembering The 1981 IBM PC

cheeseflavor — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 19:51:00 GMT

Here's a blast from the past, recently featured on The Register. I can distinctly remember having one of these more a couple of employers ago :)

IBM Personal Computer (IBM 5150)
Released: 1981
Price: $1,656
OS: MS-DOS, USCD Pascal, CP/M-86
Processor: 4.77MHz Intel 8088
Memory: 65KB (first shipped with 16KB)
Display: 320x200
Storage: One or two 160KB 5.25" disk drives IBM PC front shot

And let us not forget the operating system that started Microsoft on it's way to becoming the largest software maker in the world:

Source: Remembering the IBM PC | The Register

Technorati tags: MS-DOS, IBM PC, Tech Closet

Firefox 2.0.0.2 Released!

cheeseflavor — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 19:06:00 GMT

Friday, Mozilla officially released an update for Firefox 2.0 bringing it up to version 2.0.0.2. There are a number of fixes in this release, including a fix for a recently reported bug talked about extensively here on NIST.org's site.

The latest release also includes enhancements to make it more compatible with Windows Vista, and also now supports Afrikaans, Belarusian, Georgian and Kurdish languages. From the Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.2 Release Notes, you can read about over a 120 fixes and enhancements to the browser.

I've been aware of Firefox since its inception, and would every once in a while download and install the latest version to play with. I'd always uninstall it after a few days, and go back to my favorite (at the time) IE based browser, Netcaptor. Netcaptor was one of the first IE based browsers to make use of tabs, which of course, is standard fare for a browser nowadays. I really liked Netcaptor and used for years.

Then, development stopped on it, and I moved to Maxthon. Now here was a powerful browser. Tabs, loaded with security features and really efficient. It's still the most efficient, in terms of resources used, of all the browsers I've used. It's also very actively supported and has a strong following along with a number of plugins available to enhance it.

Then, when Microsoft released IE7, I tried to start using it. I tried to like it. Heck, I used to be an big IE fan. Well, I have to admit - IE7 is the version that lost me as a fan and there began the search for a browser that could provide (or have a good equivalent of) all of the features of Maxthon.

First up in the search was K-Meleon. K-Meleon is an extremely fast, customizable, lightweight web browser for the win32 (Windows) platform based on the Gecko layout engine. I liked K-Meleon, and I still do as a matter of fact. Wasn't very polished, but it flat out loaded pages more quickly than any another browser I tested. The feature list was a bit on the short side unless you wanted to customize it by manually editing configuration files - not for the technically challenged- but it was so fast, it was actually funny. The kind of fast that almost made it seem like it loaded pages before you clicked on a link :)

Then came Opera. This is a good, solid browser - based on the Presto rendering engine - fast and feature rich, but I just never felt comfortable with it. I really don't have any complaints about it - it was a actually a very nice browser - it just didn't feel right. Opera also has a good community behind it, and as a result has a number of very useful (and some not so useful) plugins and enhancements (called widgets) available on Opera's Widgets site.

I also tried Seamonkey. Another development branch of Mozilla and based on Gecko, Seamonkey is billed as the "all in one Internet application". It was ok, a good browser to be sure, but was a bit bloated to my liking. I've never been a follower of the "one application for everything" school as in my experience, many of these application suites never seem to perform any one function as well as a program that is designed to to only that single task.

I also tried a few others that didn't last long on my PC - Netscape, Flock, Avant, Slimbrowser - to name a few, but none of them seemed to fit the bill.

Firefox has been one of the applications I would always keep installed on my PCs at home and at work. I need it to support various activities, so I keep it around. For the last couple of months, I've been using 2.0 as my default browser and configuring it my liking, and while I liked it, I always felt it was one of the least efficient (in terms of CPU and memory usage) and wasn't one of the faster browsers of the ones mentioned earlier. But, I started to use it more and more exclusively as my default browser.

All of this leads to where this article started - with Firefox 2.0, and specifically, the latest release, v2.0.0.2 released on Friday. After downloading and dutifully backing up my profile (thanks to the great little utility MozBackup), I installed it and fired it up.

What a difference! This version is actually faster than previous versions. I mean noticeably faster. Maybe it's the optimizations added for running it on Vista, or some of the bugfixes and memory-leak issues that have plagued the browser (in my experience). Whatever they've done, it worked. And at least, for now, Firefox is a keeper.

Get it here:

Take care,

Steve (aka Cheeseflavor)

Technorati tags: bikenaked.net, cheeseflavor, tech news, Techcloset, Firefox

GPS To Be Used Extensively at Tour of California

cheeseflavor — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 06:33:36 GMT

When the Amgen Tour of California blasts through California towns at 30 mph next week, you should do what any respectable bike racing fan does -- stand on the side of the road and cheer until you're blue in the face. But if you aren't lucky enough to see the riders up close, just follow the race on Google Earth.

(image courtesy of CSC)

During this year's edition of the pro cycling race, the Computer Sciences Corporation, or CSC, will outfit seven contenders with specially designed tracking devices. Information about the riders' locations and relative positions in the race will be made available as a map mashup during each of the tour's eight daylong stages.

CSC -- which is a sponsor of the tour and the title sponsor of Team CSC, one of 20 teams in cycling's elite ProTour league -- is hoping that its new technology will give cycling's rabid fan base a more immersive view of the sport.

"This is more than just GPS," says CSC's Identity Labs chief technologist Dan Munyan. "This is object field tracking. We want to be able to focus on a field of objects in motion, looking not only at where they are on the route, but also where they are relative to each other.

Once collected, the geodata will be made available to web spectators in three ways:

CSC will provide a full-screen map of the riders' whereabouts through a web application it created using Google Maps. To appease the true geodata nuts, CSC will also publish a KML file (an XML-based mapping language) that fans can plug into Google Earth to generate their own custom maps of the race. The official Tour of California website will host a live race-tracking page using Yahoo Maps and Adobe Presentation software.

The race's web spectators will have access to almost-real-time location information for the riders as they cruise down the California coast -- a short delay will offset the feed by about 10 seconds.

Source: Wired News: Bike Racers Gear Up With Geodata

Cool! I know I'll be watching it all unfold on VS, with coverage of the next 8 days! Woohoo! Cycling coverage!

Take care,

Steve (aka Cheeseflavor)

Technorati tags: cycling, Tech Closet, bikenaked.net, cheeseflavor, Tour of California, tech news

Get a free copy of Windows Vista and Office 2007!

cheeseflavor — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 15:52:00 GMT

Would you like to get a free copy of Windows Vista and Office 2007? Of course you would!

Microsoft is now offering you a chance to get a copy of Windows Vista Business Edition and 2007 Office Professional.

But there's a small catch. You need to take in some free training (hey, knowledge is power!) in order to get your fully licensed copy sent to you.

Here's what you need to do:

Visit the Power of Together website
Sign up (US residents only)
Watch three webcasts/Labs each for Windows Vista and Office 2007 within 30 days of registering
Wait 6 - 8 weeks
Your software will be delivered to you free of charge!

Take care,

Steve

Technorati Tags: bikenaked.net - Vista - Office 2007 - Cheeseflavor

It's Official - Windows Vista and Office 2007 Launch Nov. 30th!

cheeseflavor — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 19:47:09 GMT

A Microsoft spokesperson has confirmed that the planned release dates for Vista and Office are indeed November 30 after all, fulfilling Microsoft’s promise of delivering Vista in 2006.

However, general consumer versions of Vista are still planned for a January 2007 release, with the rumored date of January 30 said to be on the verge of confirmation over the next few days.

The November 30 date will be a worldwide release, meaning Australians, New Zealanders and other countries in the same time zone will be able to get access to the software several hours before our North American brethren.

Exchange Server 2007 is also scheduled to be released on the same day, giving businesses access to Microsoft’s latest email server and email client (Outlook 2007). The US press invitation made special note of the fact that it will be the first time in 10 years that new versions of Vista, Exchange and Office will be launched together.

Corporate customers wanting access to the software will be able to get it on November 30, as will system builders, technology journalists and other selected parties, although some technology journalists may get access to the ‘Gold RTM code’ slightly sooner for review purposes. If we are able to access it any earlier we’ll be bringing you a review as soon as we possibly can.

Dorkvadar?

cheeseflavor — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 18:45:11 GMT

In what has to be one of the better examples of technology running amuck, Toshiba recently announced plans to market and sell a GIANT BUBBLE HELMET that provides a 360-degree view of TV and video games.

I can just imagine the slew of physical, mental and emotional maladies that this will cause our seemingly entertainment starved youth. Headaches, hearing loss, neck trauma (it weighs 6+ lbs.). What about heat? I have to believe this thing is hot too. Technology is grand, but really....

Steve

Technorati Tags: Technology - bikenaked.net - The Tech Closet

Windows Vista RC2 Released!

cheeseflavor — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 21:20:00 GMT

As rumoured, Microsoft today released Windows Vista Build 5744 (also known as Release Candidate 2) on connect.microsoft.com. This build is supposedly the last "external" test build, meaning only internal testers will get any further releases...(read more)

New Windows Live Writer Beta Available

cheeseflavor — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 19:31:00 GMT

Microsoft has released a new version of its wonderful blog client, Windows Live Writer. New features include:

Tagging support
Support for Blogger Beta
Categories are sorted by name and support scrolling, plus improved support for reading categories from your blog
Improved startup performance
Paste is enabled for Title region and TAB/SHIFT+TAB navigation between title and body supported
Insert hyperlink added to context menu when text is selected
Title attribute in Insert Link dialog
Custom date support for Community Server
Improved keyboard shortcuts for switching views
Change spell-check shortcut key to F7
Add ‘png’ to insert image dialog file type filter
More robust image posting to Live Spaces
Improved style detection for blogs
Fixed issues with pasting URLs and links
Remember last window size and position when opening a new post
Open post dialog retrieves more than 25 old posts

If you blog, you really need to try this one! Free, and available here.

Steve

Technorati tags: Windows Live Writer, Bikenaked.net, The Tech Closet

My list of 'must-have' Software

cheeseflavor — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 18:31:00 GMT

Everyone has their favorite programs. You know, those applications that you just cannot live without. For some, it may be as simple as Internet Explorer, or maybe Outlook or Outlook Express. As a confessing tech junkie, I have my list of programs that I just cannot seem to live without. Every new install of Windows has to have these programs installed before the computer is ready to go. Here goes:

Total Commander. I can't stand Windows Explorer as a file browser. It just plain sucks. It (along with the Start Menu) has stayed the same with every version of Windows since Windows 95. It hasn't improved a bit in my opinion. So, I don't use it. I use this powerful program written by G. Hisler. Total Commander is a multi-paneled file manager for Windows, a program like Windows Explorer used to copy, move or delete files. However, Total Commander can do much more than Explorer, e.g. pack and unpack files, access FTP servers, compare files by content, and much, much more.

NOTE: This is the only shareware title in this list. It's not free, but it is worth the money!

Winamp. I know, I know. Many of you use Windows Media Player for all of your multimedia. I've never cared for it for music or movies. Come to think of it, I don't use it for anything. There are a lot of programs out there that play MP3 and other audio formats, but for me, Winamp just runs and will play any music files I can throw at it - MP3, Monkey's Audio, FLAC, SHN, etc. And, it's free.

Media Player Classic. Now THIS is what a video player should be! Small, fast and versatile. Media Player Classic looks just like the good old Windows Media Player 6.4, but has many additional features. It has a built in DVD player with real-time zoom, support for menus, support for AVI subtitles, QuickTime and RealVideo support, built-in MPEG2/SVCD/DVD codec, and it also plays DivX and XviD. It also supports SVCD/CVD selectable subtitles and lots more. The best part about Media Player Classic is the ability to modify the filters when playing your favorite video files. It will play practically video file you throw at it. And it's FREE!

Slowview Image Viewer. Do you remember what ACDSee used to be like back when it was still fast and small? Do you wish you could find an image viewer that was just as fast and small and didn't have a lot of bloat? Look no further. SlowView is a multimedia viewer that supports more than 40 image, video, and audio formats. Among them are: JPEG, GIF, MNG, PSD, TIFF, TGA, MP3, AVI, MOV, and many others. With it, you can browse images in thumbnail mode, or one by one. You can also perform simple functions like creation of custom image effects, batch processing, or catalog creation. It supports Drag-n-Drop, wheel mouse, and other technologies. Slowview was originally written by Nikolaus Brennig, who ended up discontinuing the project and selling the rights for it to Ashampoo, who renamed it "Photo Commander", added a bunch of "features" and started charging for it. I don't begrudge anyone their chance to make a buck, but here was a program that just worked great. It's still available for download at a lot of the file sites like Betanews in the link I provided.

KeePass Password Safe. Even if you don't have as many passwords and software keys as I do (at last count, I have 144!), you need this utility. This thing has been a lifesaver for me. KeePass is a free/open-source password manager or safe which helps you to manage your passwords in a secure way. You can put all your passwords in one database, which is locked with one master key or a key-disk. So you only have to remember one single master password or insert the key-disk to unlock the whole database. The databases are encrypted using the best and most secure encryption algorithms currently known (AES and Twofish). It's a fast, small, and brilliantly designed application to store all of your login information, passwords, and (most slick of all) files like software registration keys in one small database. The app itself is small enough to fit on a floppy. I keep it on my workstation at work, my home PC and a USB keyfob. And it's actively developed and FREE!

Maxthon Web Browser. Forget Internet Explorer. Forget Firefox. In my not so humble opinion, this thing is the fastest, most secure browser available today. It uses far less memory and resources than any browser I'm aware of (and I've tried them all). It's loaded with features, has an entire community building plugins and applets for it, it's actively developed and supported, it's very, very secure, and it's free! Talking about resource usage, I currently have 7 tabs open in Maxthon, and Task Manager tells me it's using a mere 10k of memory. Firefox, with the same tabs open, is using 74k of memory. While, I think that Firefox is a good browser, it's not a match for Maxthon. Check it out, use it for a while, I think you'll agree.

Foxit PDF Reader 2.0 for Windows. If you think that Acrobat Reader is your only choice for reading and printing PDFs, are you in for a pleasant surprise! Foxit PDF reader is hands-down, the fastest and best PDF reader on the planet. It's small (the download is only 1.5MB, compared to Acrobat Reader's 23MB!), and blindingly fast. I haven't installed Acrobat Reader on any of my computers since discovering this little gem a couple of years ago. It's also available for mobile devices (PDAs) and Linux operating systems.

Screenshot Captor. Many operating systems enable you to take a basic screenshot of your desktop of the active window. Within Windows, you can press the 'Print Screen' button on your keyboard and that should take an instant grab of your entire screen. However, this doesn't always work and isn't always the best way to grab your desktop. If you'd like to grab just a section of your desktop or application, grabbing the entire screen is overkill and requires a lot of system resources, especially if you have a large monitor. Screenshot Captor is a free tool that enables you to take a grab of your entire screen, a specific window or simply a section of the screen. It's a wonderful little tool that can easily compete with the commercial screen-grabbing tools (like Snagit) on the market today.

PrimoPDF Creator. PrimoPDF is a free tool for creating high-quality, fully PDF specification compliant PDFs that can be viewed with any PDF reader. It has a user-friendly interface and enables you to create PDFs just by using Window's print dialog from any application. It's completely free - no nag screens or watermarks on your PDFs. You can also create secure PDFs with 40-/128-bit encryption and, if you want, add document information (title, author, subject, keywords, etc.) to converted PDF files.

GetDIZ Text Viewer. This is nifty replacement for Windows Notepad. Not that there's anything particularly wrong with Notepad, but it doesn't format ASCII properly, and ASCII art looks terrible in Notepad. Many downloadable ZIP archives have DIZ and NFO files included within them. These are just simple text files that can be viewed with Notepad, but GetDiz is a freeware text-viewer especially designed for those files. ASCII art is displayed correctly and the user interface is small, handy and specific. Version 3 includes several new features like Print support, URL launch, Find/Replace, Trim copy and Keyword highlights. I use it as my default text viewer for Windows.

These are just a few of the day-to-day utilities that I use to make my computer time more productive. I hope you enjoyed reading this post, and find these gems as useful as I do.

Next post - System Utilities I can't live without. I'll be compiling a list of my favorite, cannot-live-without, system administration utilities. In the near future, I'll post on some other fascinating little programs that I use a lot.

Take care!

Steve (aka Cheeseflavor)

Welcome to The Tech Closet!

cheeseflavor — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 22:06:00 GMT

Technorati Profile

Hey, I'm not all about cycling. Believe it or not, I'm also into other things too. For example I love music. I also love camping. Birds too. Also, I'm a technology geek, and as an IT Manager during the day, you could say that technology and staying on top of new technology is interesting to me, it's important too. And, as winter approaches here in MN, and the cycling season sadly draws to a close, I won't be writing as much about this wonderful sport.

So, "The Tech Closet" is born!

From time to time, I'll be posting various articles and news about things relating to computers, software and hardware (as well as my struggles with all of them) and other technology related articles in this spot. Hopefully, you'll find something interesting!

Take care!

Steve (aka Cheeseflavor)

Technorati Tags: The Tech Closet - Technology - Bikenaked.net - Computers