Here's some things that caught my attention, in no particular order...

• Windows 7 to feature touch screen, gesture based user interface...Surface like technology is coming to Windows.  Bill Gates discussed the new feature during the D6 conference this past week.  It'll be a nice feature, but one just like Vista's SideShow technology: lots of promise, no delivery.  I know of no SideShow devices and I suspect something similar with the touch technology.  We'll see.
• Apple issued an update to Mac OS X Leopard.  This is what, the fifth update since release?  This one fixes many flaws and 'enhances overall stability'. Huh.
• Sun Microsystems releases a free virtual machine. VirtualBox is available for Windows, Mac and flavors of Linux.  The Windows version can host versions of Windows from 95 through Vista, OS2, Linux and a few OS's I've not heard of.  I have been playing with the product and it is, so far, pretty robust.
• Google shows off Android. Great, another cell phone operating system.  YAWN.
• Zune Marketplace is adding more video content.  Several new networks and the number of programs doubled.  Anyone other then me care?
• Clinton is STILL 'in' the race.  It's just boring now.  The fun is gone.  Give it a rest now.
• Sadly, another crane has collapsed in New York City.  At least one person was killed, the operator of the crane. Two cranes in about as much time.  I know that sometimes, accidents just happen, but this is a bit too coincidental.  I don't know, but it is sad.

I've posted some photos that I took over the weekend to Flickr.  You can go here to see them.  The quality of the photos is fair to good.  I used my Motorola Q to take the photos.  I took my son and wanted to ride the Dominator so I did not bring the Nikon.  We're planning on going one night during the week, so maybe I'll bring the Nikon and take some better photos.  At any rate, if you like amusement park photography, check out the photos.  Oh...I also posted a couple crappy videos to my YouTube channel.

Links:

• My Flickr photostream
• My YouTube channel 

Vista's shadow copy feature-available in ALL versions of Vista-was one of those services that I've seen many people say should be disabled to save disk space and up performance.  Well, I never bothered to turn it off and it has been running since upgrading my machine to Vista.  Well, today it proved that it is, in fact, a worthy service that everyone should leave enabled.  For some reason that is unknown to me, my Videos directory got corrupted.  I tried everything and was unable to access the directory.  In it were my purchased TV shows from the Zune Marketplace, some public domain movies I got from Archive.org and home spun stuff.  It was the home spun stuff that I truly wanted back.  The rest I can just re-download.  Just as I was about to give up, I remembered the 'previous version' feature.  Well, it was useless since I could not access the directory at all.  Then I remembered that I had downloaded a nifty little called ShadowExplorer.  I fired it up, chose a date several days old since I was not sure when the problem started (though I think it was just today) and, sure enough, there they were.  I selected the directory to restore, right clicked and chose 'EXPORT'.  One by one, the files and sub-directories were restored.  I still do not know what is wrong with that directory, but I am sure happy that I never turned that service off.  

Microsoft turns the service on by default, but only Vista Ultimate and Vista Business include any kind of interface to the service.  Fortunately, ShadowExplorer lets you peek under the hood and restore files.  The program is free and works well. It should work on all flavors of Vista, including Basic.  While it does not replace a real backup-which I am going to do on a schedule now-it does help when you are in a pinch.  I highly suggest that the service be allowed to run and to download this nifty little application.

Yes, I know Mac OS X Leopard has Time Machine.  Maybe Windows Seven will have a useless but flashy frontend to the shadow copies.  Until then, ShadowExplorer will do the job with out the weird journey through space.

Visit the ShadowExplorer home page.

This item featured in Windows 2 Apples Video News. Click to go to the Video News Podcast homepage.

Today is memorial day and I would be remiss if I fail to acknowledge those who fought and are fighting for Liberty and freedom.  These concepts are not exclusive to my country, therefore, I extend my best wishes and thank you to ALL who fight or have fought for those same ideals and principals as our own have done. Thank you.

For those of you mature enough to remember the NBC program "Laugh In", you will recall the zany antics of Dick Martin.  Martin was one of the funniest comics of his day. His comedy was brilliant and very sharp.  Martin passed away this past Saturday of respiratory complications in Santa Monica, California.  Please read more here.

Something really cool happened today.  No, I'm not talking about Kasey Kahne's Coke 600 win or Scott Dixon's Indy 500 win, though both were cool.  No, I'm talking about the Phoenix lander setting down, safely, on Mars.  The craft sent NASA a message at 7:53pm tonight (May 25, 2008) that it had landed and was functioning normally.  The full details are here.

The craft is the latest in a series of orbiters and landers that are all part of NASA's off the shelf, low cost probes.  The program, less than a stunning success, had suffered several setbacks in the 90's when several craft were damaged or totally lost.  Fortunately, NASA has been on a roll of successful missions, the Mars rovers being the most public triumphs.  Both Opportunity and Spirit have outlived their six month life span by several years.  Both continue to function, though in a reduced manner.  No one knows how much longer either will survive. 

The Phoenix is surveying one of the poles-a mission that was to have been done by a previous probe that was lost.

Links:

• Phoenix Mission Page
• Mars Rover Page

We here in Virginia don't get many new  really exciting 'thrill' rides, but the last couple of years have seen not one but TWO very nice rollercoasters: last year was the Griffon at Busch Gardens Europe and today, the Dominator at Kings Dominion.  Since Cedar Fair bought the former Paramount Parks chain, we've seen many subtle and not so subtle changes at Kings Dominion.  One of the better changes has been a new emphasis on cleanliness and rides.  Today was a test for the park since it is Memorial Day weekend and the first days of service for Dominator in it's new home.  Dominator ran at the Geauga lake park for a few years.  Cedar Fair closed and dismantled the amuesment park side of Geauga Lake and shipped some of the rides to other parks in the chain.  We were fortunate enough to get Dominator.

The ride is pretty decent with lots of twists and turns.  The more exciting aspect of the ride is not, surprisingly, the loop or cobra roll.  The loop, supposedly the tallest at 170ft, was great, but the corkscrews and turn around at the back of the ride was the most exciting part of the ride for me.  Overall, the coaster ranks up among my favorite coasters, though it was NOT worth the hour and ten minute wait that we suffered through.  Kings Dominion did a good job with the whole Dominator area, but the more interesting thing they did was add a DJ.  I don't know if this is just for the weekend or if it is permanent, but it did make the time go by.  The DJ himself was witty and interacted with the crowd and was, at times, very entertaining.  The landscaping for the area is nice but makes the rest of the park look a bit unkept.

Overall, we had a short but pleasant visit and I'm looking forward to more rides on Virginia's newest thrill ride.

Click here to view photos from the trip.

At the behest of my son, I have uploaded several videos from our trips to both Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens to YouTube.  I actually created the 'channel' a couple of months ago, but thought I'd mention it here because I plan to post a few 'trip reports' hosted by my son.  We plan to go to both parks over the holiday weekend so, hopefully, Monday or Tuesday I will have the new videos posted.  The videos up on YouTube right now are not very good, they were taken with my Motorola Q smartphone and are of low quality.  The new videos will be a mixture of more Moto Q, my Nikon and any other camera I can squeeze in the bag.

Hopefully, this old body will survive the trips.

I suppose this is good.  Microsoft announced this week that by Q1 of 2009, Office 2007 will have native support for ODF and PDF. Naturally, the anti-Microsoft crowd put it's spin on the announcement while others greeted the news with a natural skepticism and optimism. Me, I don't really care.  ODF is not important to me.  The PDF part is, though.  PDF is a great way to trade documents and post to the 'net. XPS is growing on me, but, of course, not many use it.  That is, however, true of ODF.  I don't know of anyone who uses it.  It just seems, to me, as a way for organizations (and a few governments) to snub their nose at Microsoft.It's biggest backer is IBM, so that should tell you something.

Do any of you use ODF or care that Microsoft is adding support for the document?  I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.

So I installed 64bit Ultimate on my pc a few days ago.  I've run it sporadically and tonight decided to go ahead and activate it.  I am planning an eventual migration.  I am going to take it slow since the number of 64 bit apps is pretty low and the driver situation is even lower.  However, all of my hardware is working just fine and even the ATSC HD tuner (K*World something) was detected and a driver installed.  I have yet to try the media center, but I suspect it will be just fine.  I'm not expecting my Nikon D40x to work, but that is ok for now.  The worse thing about this installing the apps I use...AGAIN!.  I wish there were a registry migration tool that could read the registry of the 32bit edition and migrate app settings over to the 64 bit edition.  Might be a project one day.

So far, the OS has performed really nicely.  It 'feels' much snappier than the 32 bit edition, but that could be because it is un-inhibited at the moment (no virus scanner, crappy drivers, etc.)  I think over the weekend, I'll install Office and Visual Studio.  I need to setup the network shares, printer, etc.  The only thing I'm not going to migrate for a long time is the Zune.  I don't want to chance messing it up, or, rather, messing up my library.  It can wait. Ditto the iPod.  Hell, iTunes probably won't work anyway.

Stay tuned...I'll report how well it is working in a week or so.

Macworld has a two part article, here, about running Windows in one of the two major virtual machine packages.  The article is very well written and, unless I missed it, did not take any real pot shots at Windows-something refreshing in the Mac world.  There are lots of great tips on getting Windows to play nice in the Mac world (though I am not sure I agree with turning off UAC) and I look forward to reading part two.  As I've indicated in previous entries, I am seriously considering the purchase of Mac as my next desktop-because it can run both operating systems.  I am impressed with the level of detail and instruction in the article. Then, there are the comments.  Boy.  This is why I have a problem with the Mac.  Not the hardware or even the toy-like operating system. No, it's the userbase.  Now, I hate to make general assumptions about a population, but, with very few exceptions, my generalization has proven true. Rather than offer genuine criticisms about the article (or even praise) the typical response was something like "NO Mac user would want that, that's why we use a Mac' or comments about the 'Redmond beast', comparisons to poop, etc.  Then there the usual comments about protecting your Mac from all of those nasty Windows worms, virii, etc.  You get the idea...the comments all had a general smugness about them.  That coming from people who seem to prefer the shiny paint over reliability and function.  One commenter said he would rather use the most basic Mac application than the best Windows version. Wow.

What are these people going to do when a real threat rears it's ugly head in Mac land?  Everyday, I see some story about more and more problems with Safari, the browser of choice for Mac OS X according to Apple.  The browser, folks, is how most Windows users get bit and it will happen to Mac users as the Mac grows in popularity.  These people are in for a very rude awakening.

I am still thinking of buying a Mac, but if this is what's in store, I may have to blow away the Mac OS partition and just use it as a Windows machine.  Commenter's aside, give the article a read.

I found this quirky little web site.  It is devoted mostly to television science fiction.  The site reminds me of the old Starlog magazine from the late 1970's.  I don't know if that is by design or not, but I like it.  If you like TV science fiction, give it a try.

It is probably a widely known thing and probably written about in numerous places, but I discovered today, to my dismay, that my Motorola Q will use my work pc's internet connection when it is tethered to the pc.  The battery was low, so I plugged it into the laptop to get a charge.  While I was waiting for export code to run, I decided to hit up twitter on my cell phone.  Instead of twitter, I got the generic WARNING! page that my company issues when you try to access a restricted website (I guess they don't want us wasting time on such things as twitter.)  Puzzled, I tried again.  Of course, I got the same result.  Bewilderment flushed over me.  Then I, rather brilliantly, unplugged the phone and tried again.  Ah, success.  I was greeted with the twitter mobile page.  Just to confirm my hypothesis, I valiantly plugged the phone back into the computer and tried twitter again.  The danged WARNING! page reappeared.  Ha!  The bloody phone uses the pc's internet connection when connected to the pc.  It did not give me an option to use the cell network. Since I am physically located right next to the lan security people, I demo' ed my findings to one of them.  They were a bit shocked and suggested that I 'write something up' about it, which I will do.  Now, I am sure it is a byproduct/feature of ActiveSync and, like I said, is probably very well documented.  I just did not know-and neither did at least one person in the lan security group.  Anyone else knew this?  Please say no...so I won't feel so bloody stupid!

Microsoft released a statement saying that they were back in talks about acquiring SOME of Yahoo!'s assets.   This is just days after Carl Icahn announced a proxy fight with the internet portal.

In it's statement, which you can read more of here, Microsoft says:

"Microsoft is considering and has raised with Yahoo! an alternative that would involve a transaction with Yahoo! but not an acquisition of all of Yahoo"

No specifics have been released.  Stay tuned, this could get very interesting.

Been asked a few questions about the switch, so I thought I would write a bit about the change.  Firstly, if you have purchased a new LCD or PLASMA set in the last two or three years, it most likely already has the necessary built in digital tuner.  However, that is NOT a guarantee.  The FCC had mandated, many years ago, that by 2005, all sets were supposed to be able to receive the digital signals.  However, this is not the case.  Also, there were exemptions to the rule.  Sets under 13 inches were exempt.  I also discovered that many CRT sets that are under 20 inches also do not necessarily have the digital tuners.  Most sets made before 2005 likely do not have built in tuners either, no matter what the display type may be.  The way to tell if your set has the digital tuner is to read your manual-if you still have it.  Somewhere in the specifications or on the cover, you will see 'ATSC'.  If you see that your set is ATSC, then it has the digital tuner built in.  Otherwise, it likely does not. 

What can you do if your set lacks the ATSC tuner? 

You can buy a converter.  These converters are generally in the forty to fifty dollar range and can be purchased from most big box stores including Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Target.  The government, in an effort to help ease the transition, has allotted two forty dollar coupons to anyone who wants them.  You  have to apply for them.  You can do so here.  Once you get your coupons, which look like credit cards, you will have three months to use them.  They only work on certain specially labeled devices, so look carefully when you buy a converter.  Also, they are mostly the same but there are slight differences in features, mostly on the remote controls.  When purchasing a converter, remember that they are designed to be used on OLDER standard televisions and will most certainly lack fancy things like hdmi or component out.  You will most likely have just RF out (plugs into your cable TV in on your set) or a set of composite outputs (video and stereo audio.)  Some have S-Video out as well.

Other things to know

Remember, if you have satellite or cable television, you really do not need to worry about the switch now.  Your set will still function as it has.  Some cable companies will do an all digital/hd conversion at some point in the future, but they are restricted from doing so now.  I believe they have five years in which they must provide standard cable.  At any rate, most will continue to offer set top boxes that will work with all existing non-digital televisions. Also, if you have a Tivo or another digital recorder device and DO NOT HAVE CABLE OR SATELLITE, you will need a converter box for that device too.  Check the manual that comes with the device to see if it has the ATSC tuner built in.  I know of no such devices currently on the market except for one Tivo model.

Another very important thing to remember: digital television does NOT MEAN high definition. "Digital Television" just means that the signal used to transmit the television program is constructed and delivered digitally instead of the old analog method.  Analog signals are 'big' signals that are easily built and received.  This technology has been around for a century.  Digital broadcasting takes the signal and converts it bits and bytes-like your computer-and can send many times the amount of data that one standard analog channel.  In fact, many digital television signals contain not only the main channel, but upto four additional channels.  These sub-channels are not high definition and will often look a bit blocky.  Many stations use these for 24 hour weather, news or even another network affiliation such as Fox TV's 'My Network.' 

Some definitions:

• HDTV: High definition television
• SDTV: Standard definition television
• ATSC: acronym that means 'digital television'

Important Information:

• National DTV Conversion Hotline
  1-888-DTV-2009
• Digital Conversion Guide (PDF)
• Very complete guide to the switch
• Apply for your coupons

I hope this helps clear up the digital TV confusion.  Please leave a comment if you have any questions.

My Mother only has an analog set and cannot afford a fancy new HDTV or even sdtv.  Since the set she has is only about two years old (it is one of the last analog only sets sold, from what I can tell) it only makes sense to take advantage of the government coupon program to get a converter box.  So, I've been looking into the various boxes for sale.  Wal-Mart currently carries a couple of units, one from RCA and one from Magnavox.  They both seem comparable, so I started looking at the user reviews.  Boy, what a mistake.  People either do not know what to expect or they expect way too much. One recurring theme I saw in the reviews was a displeasure over the types of outputs these boxes have.  For example, one person did not like the Magnavox because it did not have HD out! Are you kidding me? The whole point behind these boxes is that they are to be used on OLDER sets that are NOT HD sets.  Most boxes have RF out and, at least, composite video and audio. Some have S-Video out as well.  I have not seen any that have more than that. Most feature RF pass through as well.  So far, I'm not seeing a large discrepancy in feature sets.  The boxes are all priced in the $49 to $59 price range, so they are not going to have many higher end features. At this point, I think it probably comes down to brand loyalty more than anything else.  Since I have two coupons, I think I'll buy one of each at the Wal-Mart.  My Mother used to be a Magnavox person, so I'll probably give her that one.  I, personally, do not need one, but I think I will put the second one to use on one of my computers.

For more on the switch over, click here.

That's right, Conde Nast has purchased the Ars Technica web site and will roll it into the Wired  Digital portfolio.  The price is reported to be in the $25 million range.  Read more here.

As I have stated many times, I am a podcast junkie.  I love them.  I like most of the TWITcasts (though a couple of them are a bit more esoteric for my tastes) as well as a few Mac oriented 'casts, the Apple Phone Show, TWIP and This week in media.  That last one is especially interesting in that I am also a multimedia nerd.  By that, I mean I am just as interested in HOW Battlestar Galactica is made (including the politics of producing a show) as well as watching it.  TWIM focuses on the media.  Produced by Alex Lindsay, the show features a decidedly  Apple slant-again.  That is fine.  The thing, though, that kind of gnaws at me is this idea that they seem to have about Apple being almost perfect, media wise.  The idea that iTunes is the only decent place to get content is just absurd. Most of the panelists claim to not watch television and a few claim to not even own a television set.  Fine, good for them.  However, this is also where they have a major disconnect with the rest of the world.  I am almost convinced that this is a San Francisco vision as well.  Many, if not most, of the podcast's I listen to are made in or close to San Francisco.  The cast of TWIM, especially, is a paradox to me.  They poo-poo many forms of Hi-def video, yet watch most of their content via iTunes, iPod's or-worse-in a browser over the Internet!  How in hell can you criticize Comcasts high definition video when you watch HULU on the 'net?  Granted, Comcasts high-definition does not touch over the air hi-def, but it's not bad either.  In fact, it is quite good.  I find myself watching the thirty or hi-def channels on Comcast over the others.  I watch stuff I never would have before. 

Whither physical media?

Another point that is often made on many podcast's-again, mostly from San Francisco-is that physical media is dead.  Mr. Lindsay has, many times, talked about ripping his music collection and getting rid of the physical media.  Why?  What happens when the drives die or the backup fails or, over time, codecs change.  They say downloading of content is the future.  It very well may be.  BUT...with companies talking of download caps, speeds not getting much faster and ever growing storage needs, that future is a ways away.  Downloading high quality movies today is just not that feasible.  Yeah, you can do it, but most people just don't.  iTunes is somewhat successful, but the quality of the downloads just is not that great yet.  It is not high def. 

These podcasters also speak allot about Twitter.  In fact, they talk incessantly about it.  I just set up an account to see what it's about.  I am underwhelmed so far.  I just don't see the appeal.  I don't know.

Maybe I am just on another planet, but I know NO ONE who:

• does not watch television
• downloads all of their shows from iTunes
• watches HULU
• watches television regularly on the Internet
• uses twitter

Any of you do this on a regular basis?  For me, I do watch lots of Internet video, but it is in the form of podcast's that are downloaded via the Zune Marketplace.  I don't kick back to watch the Office on Hulu. Nor do I think I am likely to in the near future.  Maybe if I miss that one show that I was desperate to see...

I finally decided to try the Zunepass service.  For those who do not know, Zunepass is Microsoft's take on subscription music for the Zune.  It costs $14.95 a month and you can, in theory, download as much content from the Zune Marketplace as long as it is music and as long as it has 'download' next to it and not 'buy.'  So far, quite a few selections I've wanted were not available to subscribers or, in some case, in the marketplace at all. What's really odd is that some albums do not let you download individual tracks while others do not include all tracks.  So far, though, I am quite pleased with the selection.  I've downloaded several albums, including Fiest, that I probably would otherwise never try.  I might even purchase some of it at some point.  I don't know that it is worth the money to me, you do seem to get quite a bang for your buck.  If you are a music aficionado, this is perfect.  If music is not the primary reason you own a Zune-like me-then this may not be such a great deal.  I use my Zune mostly for video and podcast's, which is why I am on the fence.  Don't let that dissuade you, if you own a Zune, give it a try.  You can always cancel.  Just remember, once you cancel, you lose all of the music you have rented, not the music you bought.

This detective series premiered on the DuMont Network in 1950.  The show was popular, one of the few 'hits' on DuMont.  It starred Roscoe Karns as the title character.   The show was shot in and around the DuMont offices and was cheaply made.  The episode I watched was about a convicted killer, apparently wrongly so, who was about to be put to death when Rocky starts to receive a series of phone calls.  He gets them through out the show.  It was never really clear-unless I missed something-why.  In the end, of course, justice prevails.  The episode was actually ok, given the production values of the day.  The acting was a bit Shatneresque, but that is understandable, all things considered.  The camera work is pleasing and surprisingly clever.  The poor quality of the print that I viewed did not detract too much from the enjoyment of the episode.  In fact, it made it a bit more quaint.  It really makes you appreciate the full color high definition crap that we have today.

Most of the four year run is gone, but there are about 37 episodes out in the wild.  You can download a few here.  There was a DVD released a few years ago that features four episodes.  This show is probably limited in it's appeal today to those who enjoy television's bygone era.  It is probably not for the younger Law and Order set today.

Download this and other classics at:

Internet Archive - Classic TV