QotD for 11 Dec., 2009

"XML is like violence - if it doesn’t solve your problems, you are not using enough of it." --- quote from the Nokogiri XML parser documentation

[tip o' the hat to Graham Glass]

Windows 7 and Sound Blaster Live! cards

Ran into my first problem with Windows 7 right after the initial install. No sound. Nada. Zippo. Silencio.

Turns out that Creative - the company that mfg. the soundcard - doesn't have drivers for the Sound Blaster Live! under Vista or Windows 7. Probably want you to spend money on a new soundcard instead :P

But a bit of Googling revealed the somewhat tedious workaround.

1. Goto Creative's support website and download the WinXP driver for the Sound Blaster Live! The filename is LiveDrvUni-Pack(ENG).exe


2. Before you run the file, right-click on it and choose "Troubleshoot compatibility." Then select "Troubleshoot program."


3. Select "Program worked in earlier versions of Windows..." and click "Next."


4. Select "Windows XP (SP2)" and click "Next."


5. Select "Start the program" and click "Next."


6. Select "Yes to save" and click "close."

Now the driver install program will successfully run, and when you restart - you should have sound. Yes, all that work because Creative got greedy and decided they'd try to force you to buy a new soundcard ;)

Update: There is also an independent project to write a WDM-type driver which supports the Live! and any, other EMU10K1 and EMU10K2-based soundcard - the kX Project. Word has it that this requires some tweaking once installed, but they do list Windows 7 as a supported OS.

Great Deal on a Macbook

If you know anyone in the market for Apple's least expensive Macbook, Microcenter is running a rebate deal until 11/15/09 that gets you $200 off list price ($799 after rebate - the form is in a link to a PDF file at the bottom of the page)

The rebate is a $200 Visa giftcard - usable anywhere that takes Visa, but can't be converted to cash at an ATM. I've got a slightly older version of this laptop and it's a perfectly pleasant, usable machine.

Pass the word around to anyone you know who might be interested...

QotD for 30 Oct., 2009

“I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.” ---Jesper Rønn-Jensen

Selectively run Adobe Flash under Mac OSX

Oh now this is sweet. The Adobe Flash player plugin has always been a real CPU hog on Mac OSX machines. There's no way to heat up your Macbook faster than playing a Flash movie on YouTube...

Well I've discovered an OSX add-in called ClickToFlash which fixes all that:

Ever wanted to get rid of the scourge of the web that is Adobe Flash, but still retain the ability to view Flash whenever you want? With ClickToFlash, you can! Using ClickToFlash, all of those icky Flash bits that have infected most webpages on the internets are replaced with a nice, smooth gradient and the word "Flash" set in a nice, pleasing font. When you want to view the Flash, just click on it!

The advantages of ClickToFlash are numerous. Since Flash isn't loaded until you specifically ask for it, your CPU usage will stay at normal levels when browsing the web. This has tons of benefits: web browsing stays speedy, your Mac laptop won't get as hot, and your Mac's fan won't come on as often. In fact, we guarantee* that ClickToFlash will quintuple your battery life and that it will protect those precious parts of your body on which you rest your laptop! (*note: not actually guaranteed)

Best of all, ClickToFlash even supports viewing all those ADORABLE meowing cat videos, annoying dog videos, and hilarious rickrolls from YouTube without using Flash at all! That's because YouTube also offers H.264 videos, which are used when viewing YouTube on the iPhone. With ClickToFlash, you get access to those same, higher quality videos.

Oh happy day!

GMail Guide

PC Magazine has a handy guide to Google's GMail up on their site. See An Unofficial User's Guide to Gmail for a good place to get started with this popular, eternally in Beta, service.

HOWTO: Install KeePassX for Ubuntu 'Hardy'

KeePassX is a cross-platform application that can store various bits of useful information like passwords, software license keys, account numbers, etc... in an encrypted database. It is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, and the database it keeps is portable between these platforms.

The packages for Windows and OS X look pretty straight-forward, but installing it under Ubuntu 8.04 'Hardy' this morning was an unexpected pain. Here's how to do it:

1. goto the KeePassX downloads page and grab the version under "Linux...Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron)" labeled "DEB binary package v0.3.4 (x86)".
   
2. edit your /etc/apt/sources.list file to enable the 'backports' repositories.
   
3. use the Synaptic package manager and install the following: libqt4-core libqt4-gui libqt4-dbus libqt4-network libqt4-script libqt4-test libqt4-xml libqt4-assistant libqt4-designer libqt4-opengl libqt4-svg (you'll probably get all of these, plus a few more, as dependencies once you mark the first few for install).
   
4. then launch the gdebi package manager by double-clicking on the KeePassX '.deb' file you downloaded in step 1 and click the 'Install' button.
   

KeePassX should now install w/o any dependency-based errors and show up in your "Applications..Accessories" menu.

I suspect much of this libqt-based nonsense would be moot if you run the KDE version of Ubuntu named 'Kubuntu,' as KDE itself depends on the Qt libs. But this is how I got it to install under GNOME on the std. Ubuntu 8.04.

Search Lifehacker.com for tips & tricks on using KeePassX, and the orig. Windows version KeePass.

IE Users Should Switch

The Times of London reports Internet Explorer users warned to change browser over security fears:

Microsoft admitted today that a serious flaw in security has left all users of Internet Explorer, the default web browser for most people, vulnerable to attack from hackers.

The loophole allows criminals to commandeer victims’ computers by tricking them into visiting tainted websites that steal passwords. Computer users are advised to switch to an alternative internet browser, such as Firefox or Google Chrome, to be certain to avoid hackers who have so far corrupted an estimated 10,000 websites.

Here are the links to the Firefox and Opera web browsers. Microsoft has also has a security advisory on TechNet if you're, you know...insane enough to stick with their products...

Or for sweet heaven's sake, dump all this nonsense once and for all, and get a Mac :)

UPDATE: Microsoft issues a temporary fix.

Good Manners on the Inter-tubes

Scalzi reminds us of a key bit of netiquette in The “Bcc:” Field is Your Friend.

I was reminded of this a short while ago when I received an email from a blogging friend with a CC: field chock-full of addrs for other folks - among them another blogger who hadn't chosen to share her email addr with me (not that I'd asked, it's just never come up).

So make Ms. Manners proud and go read dat :)

15 reasons Macs are Still Better Than Windows PCs

APC, the longest running computer magazine in Australia, posts a list of why Macs are still better than Windows PCs:

I long ago stopped actively seeking out Mac vs PC discussions (partly because Macs are now PCs -- so the argument is more about Mac OS X vs Windows vs Linux than a proprietary Mac architecture vs an x86 PC architecture), but I still find it confounding that after all these years, people still don't know the basics of the upsides of Macs and OS X...

So here's my answer. Note, despite what I said above about the argument really being between operating systems these days, I've looked at Macs as a hardware and software combination in this article, pitted against regular PCs running Windows. ---APC Web Editor Dan Warne

The full article is here. Some of my favorites are:

• Apple seems largely to be lameness free.
  
• Apple doesn’t load the system up with crap.
  
• More useful apps out of the box.
  
• Still no need for additional security software.
  

Plus one of my own - the power and stability of Unix married with the most well-designed personal computer user interface experience on the planet (so far).

An Elegant Linux

Got all excited a week ago, as my favorite Linux distro, Ubuntu, had finally released their latest long-term support version - 8.04 "Hardy Heron." My enthusiasm quickly flew south when I found the Live CD wouldn't even boot on my bog-standard Dell E520 desktop (a model that Dell itself sells with Ubuntu preinstalled). Further reading on the Ubuntu support forums revealed numerous complaints about not booting, poor performance, etc... Very disappointing.

So I turned to an Ubuntu derivative from a group of primarily European developers named Linux Mint that I'd previously experimented with on my laptop. The latest Linux Mint is based off of Ubuntu 7.10 and installs & runs like a charm. The Linux Mint team has also done an absolutely smashing job with the interface design / configuration, choice of std. applications, and audio/video codec support. Beautiful, elegant, and it. Just. Works.

High recommended.

(Oh, and yes - I know I haven't posted in a while. Life was just extra busy in April :)

The Fastest Windows Vista Laptop

PC World magazine tested several laptops for a recent issue, and came to the rather interesting conclusion that the fastest one for Windows Vista is...

The Apple MacBook Pro.

The fastest Windows Vista notebook we've tested this year is a Mac. Try that again: The fastest Windows Vista notebook we've tested this year--or for that matter, ever--is a Mac. Not a Dell, not a Toshiba, not even an Alienware. The $2419 (plus the price of a copy of Windows Vista, of course) MacBook Pro's PC WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score of 88 beats Gateway's E-265M by a single point, but the MacBook's score is far more impressive simply because Apple couldn't care less whether you run Windows.

Ironic, eh ?

[via Scot Hacker's foobar blog]

Great Flat-panel Monitor, Great Price

I just got done unpacking and setting up my new NEC 90GX2 19" flat-panel monitor this weekend.

This thing is fantastic. Best display quality of any desktop flat-panel monitor I've ever used. And I'm picky - used to exclusively go with higher-end Sony CRT monitors for my eyes' sake (I have to wear reading glasses for close-in work).

The screen has a glossy finish like some of the more recent notebook computer displays that really helps with brightness and color saturation. Matter of fact, it's probably too bright out-of-the-box. I've also encountered no problems with reflections on the glossy screen, which isn't any worse than many decent CRT monitors, though YMMV. 700:1 contrast ratio and a fast 4 ms pixel response time make it great for gaming and watching DVD movies as well as std computing tasks.

1280x1024 pixel resolution, both analog (VGA) and digital (DVI-D) inputs (both cables included), and a USB 2.0 hub. NEC makes rock-solid equipment, and this was priced like the high-end gear it is just a few months ago ($450+). But the current price on Amazon is less than $220 + free shipping.

You owe it to yourself to have a look at this in your local computer store, but like I said - Amazon seems to have the best price right now. Highly recommended.

Ammo for Switchers

Over on Valleywag, Nick Douglas has 42 Reasons Normal People Can Switch to Macs.

Are Macs just for hipster designers? Not at all! Maybe you've wanted to switch to a Mac, but you were afraid it wouldn't work with your Office files. Maybe you can't convince your parents they won't lose their vacation photos. Maybe your boss thinks Macs are toys not meant for serious adults. For all those cases, here are 42 reasons that normal people can switch to Macs.

Canonical Partnership with Linspire

Two of the most popular, Debian-based desktop Linux OSes have decided to share technologies between the two distros. The partnership between Canonical (home of Ubuntu Linux) and Linspire will result in changes like Freespire 2.0 (due in April, 2007) being based on Ubuntu, and future Ubuntu releases having access to proprietary software (e.g. DVD players, media codecs) via Linspire's Click 'N Run (CNR) service.

There's a FAQ avail on the Freespire wiki with more info.

I (sorta) Built a New PC

Right before the Christmas holidays, my homebuilt 2.4 GHz P4 box went belly-up. Most likely a bad motherboard, but I was just tired of messing with it.

So I scavenged almost everything I could out of it and started hunting around for the current price/performance breakpoint in "Intel-based" PCs. Turns out that title belongs to the very inexpensive 64-bit AMD CPUs like the Sempron. Ended up with an Asus Vintage AE-1 "barebones" system from Directron - one of my favorite PC parts suppliers.

One of the big advantages of doing business with Directron is that they'll assemble & test any PC components you purchase for a very reasonable fee. So I had them drop in an AMD Sempron 3400 and 1GB DDR400 RAM in to the AE-1, test it, and ship it to me. I then added my DVD burner and AGP video card myself and badda-boom, new computer. Both WinXP and Ubuntu Linux installed easily (had a minor work-around with Ubuntu & the SiS190 ethernet chipset on the AE-1 motherboard, but nothing serious), and for just over $300 I have a small, speedy and quiet new system.

Recommended.

An Ideal External Drive

I've recently found an almost ideal line of external hard drives with the Western Digital "My Book" series. I purchased the 250 GB model and discovered several great features:

• It's very quiet and runs cool


• The case is decent looking and unobtrusive


• Most importantly, the drive spins down after a period of inactivity (unlike most of the other external drives I've seen)

The only, slight drawbacks are that the drive automatically turns on & spins up whenever the attached PC boots (vs. defaulting to "off" unless you press the power button), and that the disk is formatted with the FAT32 filesystem. The filesystem issue isn't necessarily bad - just depends on what sort of OS your PC runs. Folks who run WinXP exclusively (I'm sorry) may want to reformat the drive as NTFS, and MacOS users will probably want to change it to HFS+. But FAT32 isn't bad. All modern OSes can read/write to it. The only drawback is that a single file can't be larger than 4GB on a FAT32 filesystem.

Anyway - good piece of kit. Recommended.

WRT54G Reclaimed for Linux

As a follow-up to my post below about a Real Router for $60, word comes that recent models of the popular Linksys WRT54G can now be converted to Linux like the older models.

The current, series 5 models of the WRT54G have come from Linksys with the VxWorks OS loaded, and were resistant to being flashed with alternate firmware. But...

Jeremy Collake, aka "db90h," appears to have created a "VxWorks Killer" flash image that overwrites the VxWorks bootloader on series 5 WRT54G routers with normal Broadcom CFE firmware. This then enables the device to be put into maintenance mode at startup, after which Linux firmware can be installed easily.

[via Linux Devices]

A Real Router for $60

There have been alternative, Linux-based firmware upgrades for the Cisco/Linksys WRT54G series of wireless routers for some time now. But a new article on Lifehacker introduces this easy upgrade in a very approachable way.

After following the instructions and upgrading to the DD-WRT firmware, your cheap WRT54G can do cool, "real router" things like QoS (Quality of Sevice, a.k.a. traffic shaping), where you assign higher bandwidth to certain machines, or to critical apps like Skype, while still letting that Bittorrent D/L chug along in the background. You can also increase its wireless Xmit power from the default, and rather measly, 28 mW to something more useful - like 70 mW. Or set it up as a static DHCP server, where the individual MAC of a machine's NIC is always assigned the same IP addr with its DHCP lease. Endless, geeky network admin fun awaits...

[via boingboing]

Freeware Utilities Aggregation Site

Now this site is useful! A list of 450+ freeware utilities to solve common PC problems. Not perfect - they're missing some of my favorites (like the Vim editor), and it's completely Windows-centric. Still worth bookmarking, tho'.

[via Chaos Manor]