The Linux in Your Mirror May Be Closer than it Appears

You could be forgiven if you started thinking I've turned into one of those Linux crazies. You've probably encountered them. They're the ones who seem to think that there is only one true operating system and that every other operating system is inefficient, insufficient, inelegant, infantile, indefensible, inert, immaterial, and indolent, that it is inexplicably used only by ignoramuses with infinitesimal brains. In other words, they're insufferable. But sometimes I think they have a point.

Whenever I write about Linux, I try to do so on a computer that's running Linux. At the moment, that means I'm sitting beside the desktop system, which could be running Linux but is running a Windows-specific program that I need to perform an important task. I'm working with a notebook computer that is running Linux, but could be running Windows.

Linux has no small number of satisfying features, some small, others smaller. And some not so small. It's just that the really big ones sometimes aren't obvious.

Small features that are plusses

I've talked about some of the large features in the past (the ability to run on less powerful computers, reliability, security, and the like) so I won't bore you with those this time around. At the end, I always damn Linux with words to the effect that it's a fine operating system, but it's not for me. Not yet, anyway.

So what's in the way?

It's not the operating system. Today's Linux systems are as easy to set up as Windows systems. Easier, maybe. Most Linux systems have some sort of menu system that works a lot like the one Windows uses (it may be at the top of the screen, but the idea is the same). The file structure can be made to look a lot like Windows. Some people probably wouldn't even notice the difference.

Oh, sure, there's that command line thing. But even Mac users have come to learn that the command line can be very useful if you need to terminate a runaway process. A quick "pstree -p" will show all the running processes. Find the one you need to kill and say "sudo kill {id}" (where {id} is the process ID number) and the process is toast. Actually, I'm showing off a bit. Most new Linux users will never type that command, but they might type "dir" to see a list of files. I know that purists will say that should really be "ls" but some Linux systems have built-in aliases so that some old DOS-like commands will work.

Those who don't like the command line or who fear it can simply avoid using it. Most of the command-line tools (well, the ones that average humans would use) have graphical counterparts.

So it's not the operating system.

What it comes down to for me is the lack of certain Windows-specific applications that I like or feel that I need. How many are there? Maybe this is a good time to take stock. How close is Linux to being the basis for my primary system? For the purposes of this discussion, I'll pick just one Linux application--the one I would use if somebody told me that I had to switch to Linux tomorrow.

Some people suggest that Linux will never be a success because there are no applications for Linux. As you can see from the list above, that is short-sighted, misinformed, and wrong. Every Windows application that I've listed so far has at least one Linux analog that I would be able to use.

I've said before that Microsoft must certainly fear the open source movement. Now more than ever.

Taking Control: Windows 7 Control Panel Functions

The Control Panel is the section of Windows where you can modify the way the computer works. From indexing to security, default applications to fonts, personalization to user access control, and sound to hardware settings, this is the place to go when you want to change something system-wide. The Windows 7 Control Panel has some rough edges (notably, it's sometimes impossible to navigate back to an earlier section after you drill down), but the new arrangement makes it possible to get to a given area by more than one route. This means that the Control Panel has more choices than it needs to have, but it also means that two people who think about a particular control in different ways will each be able to find it without too much trouble.

Click for a larger view.I'm going to start with something that's not a Control Panel function. Strictly speaking, this probably isn't a Windows 7 feature, but it's welcome nonetheless. When I visited Microsoft's website with Firefox, it offered to show me a video with 2 software engineers talking about Windows 7. It wouldn't play because it needed a Windows media player for the browser.

But guess what! Microsoft now has a Windows Media Player extension for Firefox.

I downloaded it. Installed it. And it works.

Click for a larger view.I decided to look around the control panel and made my way to the localization page.

This is the location where you specify monetary, date, and time formats. What a lot of users may not know is that this is where Word obtains information about how you want the date to be formatted when you use the Insert Date command.

I prefer the "long date" (Day, Month date, year), but when it's selected in Word, there's a leading zero before the days up to 10. I prefer "Monday, June 1, 2009" to "Monday, June 01, 2009". After all these years, Microsoft's default is still to include the leading zero.

The fix is easy, though: Just change the setting from "dddd, MMMM dd, yyyy" to "dddd, MMMMM d, yyyy". If you don't care for that format, or for any of the formats Microsoft suggests, you can make your own.

A handy new feature allows you to specify which day the week starts on. I happen to prefer starting the week on a Monday so that the weekend days are together on the calendar.

Click for a larger view.The fonts display is considerably more useful than it's been in the past. Each face is illustrated, and with useful letters. The lowercase "g" is one of the more distinctive letters, so it's nice to see that included in the small sample.

It would be even nicer to have an ampersand (&) and a couple of other distinctive letters, but this is a good start. And to see the full alphabet in various sizes, you can, of course, just double-click the icon.

Click for a larger view.I use a Kensington mouse with the notebook computer and Kensington doesn't yet have a driver for Windows 7. The latest available Mouseware drivers don't work at all. The application won't even load.

So that means I'm stuck with some buttons that don't do what I would expect them to do. This isn't a big deal, but it's one of the reasons it's important to treat new versions of an operating system (any operating system) with caution. Hardware and software you depend on may not function properly following an upgrade.

Click for a larger view.For the real geeks, Windows 7 offers an excellent performance monitor that can display real-time statistics about the computer's operation and maintain a log file. More than 50 classifications of monitors exist and some of those have a dozen or more lower level monitoring tools.

Click for a larger view.And finally Windows comes with a real firewall. The XP firewall monitored only inbound connections. This shortcoming was largely eliminated in Vista, but the Windows 7 firewall has a robust collection of settings. Besides that, it's turned on by default and reasonably well configured.

Even if you have no experience in setting up firewalls, you won't go too far wrong with what Microsoft has done by default.

This is one report in a continuing series of articles on Windows 7. To read the entire series, follow this link.

Short Circuits

Spammers Canned

If you've noticed a sharp drop in spam starting about a week ago, I may know why. For the past week or so, I've been receiving about 100 spams in my spam filter, which is at least a 90% drop in spam volume. The drop was so large and so fast that I thought something was wrong with the filtering service.

As it turns out, the US Federal Trade Commission shut down Pricewert, a big spam operation with ties to organized crime in Eastern Europe. The FTC obtained a temporary restraining order to prohibit Pricewert’s illegal activities and require its upstream Internet providers and data centers to cease providing services to Pricewert. The order also freezes Pricewert’s assets.

The court will hold a preliminary injunction hearing on June 15, 2009. (Source: FTC)Click for a larger view.

Burn, Baby, Burn!

What happens when a DVD doesn't burn properly? It isn't pretty. And it's not good for the DVD in the tray. I was burning a DVD when the system seemed to be a bit unresponsive. After waiting far too long, I killed the process. When I looked at the DVD, the problem was obvious.

The system had hung and, from the looks of the image at the right (click it for a magnified view), Windows was trying to burn the same area of the disc again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. Well, you get the idea.

How Many Versions of Windows 7?

A few weeks ago, I made a case for 2 versions of Windows 7 instead of the 5 or 6 or 7 versions that Microsoft plans to release. Then I ran across an article by Jason Hiner, editor in chief of Tech Republic. He blew my argument away. Actually, it seems that I didn't go quite far enough. Hiner says Microsoft should offer just one version of Windows. Why didn't I think of that!

Until Vista, that's what Microsoft did. Windows 95. Windows 98. Windows 2000. You could argue that Windows 2000 came in 2 versions (Workstation and Server), but this didn't represent two versions of an operating system created by the marketing department. It represented 2 operating systems, one for a desktop machine and one for a server, that just happened to share the same name and some of the same code.

Despite my claim at the left that Vista was the first instance of Windows to have multiple versions, that's not the case. Windows XP had "home" and "professional" versions. The "Media Center" version could be counted as yet another version of XP, but I consider it to be a separate and temporary branch.
Corrected 21 June 09 at 11:50:02

It wasn't until Vista that the marketers got together with the bean counters and figured out that they could offer a low-end operating system that left out the critical piece that made Vista Vista. They could call it Vista. Computer manufacturers could call it Vista. But it wouldn't look, talk, walk, or taste like Vista.

Look at the competition:

So what makes Microsoft think they have a better idea? Why would they want to inflict a choice such as this on their loyal customers? The answer, I think, is easy. They can sell a crippled version to OEMs that the OEMs can put on machines that they sell to cheapskates who still want to say they have Windows 7. Price lowballing is one of the computer industry's oldest tricks.

Everybody knows that most people will drop the extra money to buy an operating system that's in the middle of the pack and a few people will need or want the features in the high end operating system.

But why not just give everyone all that the operating system has to offer? Why not charge a price that's a bit higher than the lowest priced "Windows 7" and a bit lower than the "Ultimate" Windows 7. Use the price point in the middle and sell just a single operating system.

Who Wins?

That's my take on it, anyway. And if you'd like to see Jason Hiner's comments (and why he thinks the best price would be lower than even the least expensive planned version), you can read it here.

Is Your Television Still Working?

The switch to digital has finally happened and the converter box coupon program is back in operation. Some people applied for coupons earlier, received them, and then couldn't find converter boxes for sale. The coupons expired. Then they were no longer available. To view television now, you need a digital television set, a converter box and an analog television, or paid service that is delivered by cable or satellite. If you still need a coupon, you can order one or two on line. But you must have the coupon in hand to use it, so you might have to wait a few days.

The Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 required full-power television stations to cease analog broadcasts and switch to digital by February 17, 2009.  The Act authorized NTIA to create the TV Converter Box Coupon Program, which was funded initially by airwaves auction proceeds.

About 36% of the nation's 1800 full-power televisions stations shut down their analog transmitters in February, but the DTV Delay Act established June 12, 2009, as the final date by which all full-power television stations in the country were required to terminate analog broadcasts. The FCC prohibited some stations that wanted to switch in February from doing so. And the final date to switch was last Friday. Some stations made the switch earlier in the week.

More information on the digital television transition is available at www.DTV.gov and you can order one or two coupons from www.dtv2009.gov.