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Vol. 10, #32 - Aug 17, 2010 - Issue #442
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Technology and Taboo Topics |
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- Technology and Taboo Topics
- Follow-up: The Circle of (Computing) Life
- Quotes of the Week
- Tools We Think You Shouldn't Be Without
- XP SP2 can be patched, but ...
- Xbox 360 outsells the Wii
- Microsoft Research: LCD based keyboard prototype
- How to find out which services are running on your XP computer
- How can I get rid of the "suggested sites?"
- File security issues after converting FAT32 to NTFS
- Screensaver timeout value is not restored after using Remote Desktop
- This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff
- ClipMate 7 - Copy and Paste like a Pro with ClipMate!
Editor's Corner
Cool Tools
News, Hints, Tips and Tricks
How To: Using XP Features
XP Question Corner
XP Configuration and Troubleshooting
Fav Links
Product of the Week
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Editor's Corner |
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Technology and Taboo Topics
Once upon a time, people didn't talk about certain subjects in "polite company." The big three taboo topics were sex, religion and politics. You just didn't bring those things up in conversation with work colleagues, casual friends and acquaintances. I worked with people for years and never had a clue about their sex lives, their faith (or lack thereof) or how they voted. And It wasn't just individuals who observed the custom. For example, many companies gave donations to political parties and causes, but they usually didn't publicize that fact - in large part because they didn't want to alienate those members of their customer base who were on the other side.
Today, it seems as if nobody has any secrets anymore and no topic is taboo. Television was probably the biggest factor in opening the door to that trend. Sitcoms, dramas and talk shows all revolve around who's sleeping with whom. From Atheism to Zoroastrianism, religion has turned into a matter of contention. And politics - oh, my. It seems to permeate every other topic of discussion, including sex and religion.
Modern communications technologies have undoubtedly contributed to the current culture where everyone talks to everyone about everything. For many of us, the vast majority of our interactions these days take place across miles (or hundreds or thousands of miles). We may or may not be able to see the person(s) with whom we're interacting. Our words may be spoke (telephone, VoIP) or typed (IM, email). Either way, distance acts a bit like alcohol in that it removes normal inhibitions we might have when conversing with others "up close." And then if you add alcohol (or other drugs) to that equation (e.g., the Facebook "friend" who's updating his status on his laptop while sitting in his recliner having a beer or six), you have a recipe for a very spirited - in several senses of the word - discussion.
Some are bound to say that the breaking down of these barriers is a good thing. They'll say that hiding any aspect of your personality from anyone else is dishonest and that you should never have to censor yourself online. They'll say completely open communication is healthy and it's better for all of our relationships if we get to know all these things about one another.
I'm not so sure about that. Most of my social networking friends are not part of my intimate circle of confidants. Most of them are not people with whom I have a lifetime of shared memories that form a foundation on which we can amiably argue about our core belief systems and still love one another. Many of them are industry colleagues, people I work with. Many of them are people with whom I share a passion for one of my many hobbies. We have great relationships within the confines of those mutual interests. Why mess those relationships up by venturing into dangerous conversational territory? But that's exactly what we do when one of us posts a status update that takes a hard stance on a topic like sex, religion or politics.
Oh, sometimes you get a pleasant surprise. An acquaintance posts a link to a political web site that's one of your favorites and you feel closer to him/her. Or you discover that one of your work colleagues shares your religious views and it leads to a new avenue for your friendship. But more often, it seems to work the other way. That's why, back last September, I wrote a blog post titled Please Keep Your Politics Out of my Face(book).
http://www.wxpnews.com/4CHNK9/100817-Facebook-Politics
Since then, the invasion of politics into my social network has only gotten worse. I really did not need to know that a work colleague I really respect "likes" a particular politician for whom I have zero respect. Nor did I need to read a diatribe against one of my favorite causes from someone with whom I had built a great friendship based on our mutual love of photography, or the put-down of my religious beliefs by one of my fellow writers. And I could really do without one young "friend's" occasional posts about his sexual conquests. Offended? No, that's not it. It's just TMI - Too Much Information. Information that doesn't serve a positive purpose, and that may subtly impact how I feel about those friends.
I admit that I've occasionally posted on a political subject about which I feel strongly, but more and more often now, I forego that urge. On social networks, I usually express my politic views in a different way, by "liking" friends' political posts with which I agree, or responding in their comment threads. When a friend posts something political with which I disagree, I just say nothing. If a friends posts a lot of those, I may end up "hiding" that friend's posts so I won't be tempted to respond. And I try to keep politics out of my own status updates (although I don't always succeed).
Likewise, I understand that many people feel it's their duty to shout their religious beliefs from the rooftops and that not doing so somehow means they're ashamed of their faith. I don't know. To me, faith is a personal thing and something that one comes to on one's own. I've never comfortable with door-to-door salespeople, including those who were "selling" their churches or brand of belief.
Am I suggesting that people not be allowed to post on these topics? Not at all! I'm just saying we need to be aware of our audience when we post on these sensitive topics and understand that we may do damage to an online "friendship" if we choose to make our views known. Too many people assume that everyone they know feels exactly the way they do about important issues. Young people, especially, are often astonished that someone who is a nice person could possibly hold views from the opposite side of the political aisle or hold religious beliefs that are different from their own.
Depending on how we use it, the technology can bring us closer together, or it can divide us more sharply than ever. My husband offered a quote this morning that I like: "Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing that a tomato doesn't belong in a fruit salad." Knowledge may be power, but there are some things we're happier not knowing - especially things about each other. Maybe wisdom is knowing how much to reveal, when, and to whom. Tell me what you think. Am I completely off the wall on this? Do you love reading your friends' posts about sex, religion and politics? Do you want to know everything about everybody? Or do you wish your friends would keep their politics (and sex and religion) out of your face(book)? We invite you to discuss this topic in our forum at
http://www.wxpnews.com/4CHNK9/100817-Forum-Discussion
Follow-up: The Circle of (Computing) Life
In last year's editorial, I took a look beyond the coming cloud to predict that one day we'll see a second PC revolution. Readers joined in, with many of them echoing my observations that though resistance may be futile, there are many companies and individuals who will continue to resist "cloudification" for as long as they possibly can.
While some agreed with me that the pendulum will swing back, others believe the momentum will eventually be lost and that pendulum will come to a rest somewhere in the middle, with most of us using a blend of cloud and local computing. I agree that this is a likely eventual scenario.
As Kenneth F. pointed out, ultimately the customer will decide - and those vendors who invest too heavily in the cloud may end up disappointed if it's not what the customer wants. He came up with a good analogy: "Back in the 1950's, a lot of observers hailed the newly-invented automatic transmission in cars and predicted that all cars would go automatic, that the clutch pedal would disappear. It didn't happen, although most passenger car drivers prefer automatics. It didn't become a swinging pendulum, either; it hit an equilibrium. That's the way it'll go for the 'cloud,' too, but the proportion is yet to become known."
Too many people seem to have had experiences similar to that of bprevett, who said, "I know from experience that relying on the Internet is not a good way to run a business. We have our HR data on an ASP. Probably one of the worst decisions that we have ever made...because if our proxy at head office goes down, we don't have access to that data." That's why so many folks just don't trust the cloud.
And Bgaston noted that performance is a big and overlooked issue in cloud computing: "I presently have a 20 down x 2 up connection, and it is slow, compared to working with on my PC. I am not sure people will accept spending large amounts of money on a[n] extremely fast computer, only to be throttled back by their internet speeds."
I don't understand responses like this one: "I don't belive [sic] that the Cloud is a great idea because some hacker will find a way into it if was developed by MicroSoft. [sic] They have been patching their O/S since the first release back when it was only on a Floppy Disk with 1 drive." Some folks seem to turn every topic into an opportunity to bash Microsoft. Every other operating system vendor (at least every responsible one) patches their OS, too. Linux vendors such as Red Hat regularly release patches. Secunia recently reported that from 2005 to 2010, Apple has had more security vulnerabilities than Microsoft except for a single year (2006).
Then I got this interesting response: "Your insistence that the cloud will happen seems bizarre. I wish that instead you would please tell your sponsor that it is a stupid idea and that except for a few home and mobile device users, it simply will not work ... Please stop preaching this garbage, it bothers me and the stupidity of it is too distracting." Anyone who's read my previous discussions about cloud computing know that I'm hardly an advocate - but to deny that the cloud not only will happen, but is already happening, is what seems bizarre to me. And this newsletter's sponsor (Sunbelt/GFI Software) is not a cloud provider.
And yet another reader emailed this: "Ya gotta stop with the bs cloud as the next big thing assertion. Do you get paid by Google to spew such lies. No one in his right mind will trust a cloud with important data, nor will anyone who thinks for more than a second ever trust a cloud with supplying important manipulation/creation software. Do you not know anything about computers. Given Google's latest abusive proposal I'd think you'd have the sense to be quite about the inevitability of cloud computing." Well, at least now instead of being accused of being a Microsoft shill, I'm being accused of being a Google shill. Variety is the spice - and I get some pretty spicy reader responses from time to time.
Spicy or not, thanks to all of those who participated in this week's discussion!
 'Til next week,
Deb Shinder, Editor
feedback@wxpnews.com
PS: Did you know this newsletter has a sister publication called Win7News? You can subscribe here, and tell your friends:
http://www.wxpnews.com/4CHNK9/100518-Win7News
And for IT pros, there's our "big sister," WServer News, at
http://www.wxpnews.com/4CHNK9/100518-WserverNews
Look up the WXPnews Fan Page and join us on Facebook!
Quotes of the Week
"Always write angry letters to your enemies. Never mail them." - James Fallows
"Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you'll ever regret." - Ambrose Bierce
"Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught." - Oscar Wilde |
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- Does not slow down your PC
- New antivirus + antispyware engine with firewall
- Advanced anti-rootkit technology
- Cutting-edge Proactive Protection
- Full email protection: Outlook and Windows Mail
- Ideal for Netbooks that need malware protection
- No automatic credit card charge each year!
Try VIPRE Antivirus Premium now for 30-days FREE!
http://www.wxpnews.com/4CHNK9/100727-VIPRE-Antivirus
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Cool Tools |
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News, Hints, Tips and Tricks |
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XP SP2 can be patched, but ...
We all know that Microsoft has discontinued support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 and urges XP users to update to SP3 as soon as possible. Although SP3 is generally stable, there are some folks who just don't want to install it. A security adviser with F-Secure (an antivirus company in Finland) recently published a blog post that contains instructions on how to edit the registry to trick an SP2 computer into thinking it has SP3, thus allowing it to continue to get security updates, and it's been all over the news. We don't recommend this method; just biting the bullet and applying SP3 makes a lot more sense for most users. But if you're adamant about not doing that, this is one alternative. Just remember that you enter at your own risk. Read more here:
http://www.wxpnews.com/4CHNK9/100817-Registry-Hack
And read about some of the problems that might result from using this tweak here:
http://www.wxpnews.com/4CHNK9/100817-LNK-Patching
Xbox 360 outsells the Wii
The video game market is a highly competitive one, with Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony battling it out to come out on top. Last month's sales figures show Microsoft pulling ahead, with Nintendo DS in second place, the Wii in third and PlayStation 3 in fourth (but with a big gain in market share over this time last year). Find out more here:
http://www.wxpnews.com/4CHNK9/100817-Xbox-360
Meanwhile, new Xbox console with Kinect gesture-controlled technology is set to launch in November, not so coincidentally just in time for the holiday shopping season:
http://www.wxpnews.com/4CHNK9/100817-xBox-Kinect
Microsoft Research: LCD based keyboard prototype
We've all seen touchscreen keyboards on smart phones and the iPad, but how about a touchscreen that is a keyboard? This Microsoft Research project is a prototype keyboard that's a large touch screen. The idea is that it can easily adapt to different programs so that the keys can represent different inputs depending on what you're doing. It's an interesting idea, and who knows? This might be the future of the keyboard:
http://www.wxpnews.com/4CHNK9/100817-LCD-Based-Keyboard
That is, if the keyboard has a future at all. Microsoft is also hard at work on improving speech recognition, specifically for Windows Phone 7. But the cloud-based speech rec technology created by Tellme (a Microsoft acquisition), if it works well, could also be used as an alternative input method for desktop and laptop computers. Someday we might just talk to our computers instead of typing:
http://www.wxpnews.com/4CHNK9/100817-Speech-Recognition
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How To: Using XP Features |
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How to find out which services are running on your XP computer
There are several ways to determine which services are started and running on your XP computer, but one of the easiest is to use the command line. Just do the following:
- Click Start | Run and type cmd.exe or click Start | All Programs | Accessories | Command Prompt
- In the command window, type net start
- View the list of Windows services that are started.
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XP Question Corner |
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How can I get rid of the "suggested sites?"
QUESTION:
I upgraded to Internet Explorer 8 on my XP SP3 computer and generally I like it. But I don't like the "suggested sites" feature. I don't need IE to suggest sites for me, and I don't like that it seems to use my browsing history to do this. How do I know they aren't storing my browsing history somewhere? I made the mistake of accepting this feature when I was asked during the installation but now I want to get rid of it. Can you help? Thanks! - Ricky D.
ANSWER:
I don't use the Suggested Sites feature, either. It's simple enough to turn it off. Just do the following: In IE 8, click Tools | Internet Options. Click the Advanced tab. In the Settings section, under the Browsing header, uncheck the box that says "Enable Suggested Sites." Click OK. This turns off the feature but doesn't remove the Suggested Sites button from the IE Favorites toolbar. To remove it, just right click it and click Delete, then Yes to confirm that you really want to delete it. |
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XP Configuration and Troubleshooting |
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File security issues after converting FAT32 to NTFS
You can use the convert.exe utility built into Windows XP (Pro or Home) to convert FAT32 partitions to NTFS. You get many benefits with NTFS, such as better security, compression, file level encryption and more. However, after you run the utility, you might find that your All Users folder and all its subfolders give the Everyone group full control. You can use the Cacls.exe utility to correct these incorrect security settings. Find out more about the problem and a link to another article on using Xcacls.exe in KB article 810142 here:
http://www.wxpnews.com/4CHNK9/100817-FAT32
Screensaver timeout value is not restored after using Remote Desktop
If you use Remote Desktop to log onto your Windows XP Professional computer, you might find that the screensaver timeout that you previously configured won't be used when you log back on locally. Instead, it defaults to 10 minutes. This happens when you used a different user account to log on with Remote Desktop. You'll find a workaround (which involves editing the registry) in KB article 811329 at
http://www.wxpnews.com/4CHNK9/100817-Time-Out-Value
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Fav Links |
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This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff
Disclaimer: WXPNews does not assume and cannot be responsible for any liability related to you clicking any of these linked Web sites.
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Product of the Week |
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ClipMate 7 - Copy and Paste like a Pro with ClipMate!
The native clipboard in Windows is great for cutting and pasting a single item at a time, but if you want to move a series of items, or save items for later use, then you need ClipMate! Rather than working with one piece of clipboard data at a time, ClipMate enhances the native clipboard functionality by remembering all items (both text and graphic) that are copied to the clipboard and storing them in "collections" for later pasting. With ClipMate as a Windows companion, users will never accidentally lose a piece of clipboard data again.
http://www.wxpnews.com/4CHNK9/100817-ClipMate
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About WXPnews |
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These documents are provided for informational purposes only. The information contained in this document represents the current view of Sunbelt Software on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Sunbelt must respond to changes in market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Sunbelt and Sunbelt cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication.
INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FREEDOM FROM INFRINGEMENT.
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The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and the use of this document. This document may be copied and distributed subject to the following conditions: 1) All text must be copied without modification and all pages must be included; 2) All copies must contain Sunbelt's copyright notice and any other notices provided therein; and 3) This document may not be distributed for profit. All trademarks acknowledged. Copyright Sunbelt Software, Inc. 1996-2010.
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