Windows XP is not ready for the bigtime yet - even after two years of being out in public.
It is OK for home use but here are some really important issues that companies and professional managers cannot ignore - primarily that third-party software often is not permitted to operate correctly.
There are two examples:
• XP won't interface correctly with the Promise Software data base for DacEasy from a remote computer. This means that multiple users cannot update files - a capability that even Win98 can do. It appears to me that, rather than fix the problem, Microsoft is using its monopoly power to eliminate the competition.
• The other example known to me is that Word Perfect will not operate correctly from another computer sharing the files. Word Perfect states that they are working on the problem but evidently need Microsoft to do something.
This pretty much explains why XP has made only about a 5% penetration into the corporate world.
The inevitable observation is that if you are going to do anything even remotely fancy, plan on doing it with Win2000. It seems to work and is a known working product. It is too bad that all of the home computers have XP on them as it gives the impression that XP is pervasive - but it isn't in the real commercial world.
Just so I don't break my record of not liking any of the pre-canned computers from the large companies, I have just spent an entire Saturday session dealing with the ways these large companies use proprietary hardware and software to control customers.
Dell had a computer that had a hard drive that was only cable select and thus could not be made into a Master-Slave duo. There was no documentation and the signal cable was a single connection.
Another computer had come with no restore CD, but did have an image of the restore already on the disk as a part of the primary partition. The only problem was that when we asked for it to wipe the disk (thereby wiping out a very nasty worm), the control program would not allow the action, thus protecting the worm. The missing CD image will arrive in a week cost $13.
What computers do I like?
The Operaserv worm has been a real bear to get out of a network of computers. The worm, once inside the net, transfers itself to any computer that is on the same network, mails itself to the address list, and retains copies in memory and replicates itself as multiple-named programs.
To get rid of the worm, while Norton AntiVirus will find it, one has to remove the hard drive from the infected computer and attach the hard drive to a sterile computer, and then scan and delete the files that are infected. At all times when completed scanning for the worm, the computer must be turned off to get rid of the copy of the worm that is resident in memory.
It is true that Norton AntiVirus will identify the worm, but the extreme measures outlined above need to be employed to eradicate the worm from a network.
The message here is to keep your anti virus programs on automatic update every day.
Further, Symantec updates its anti virus each Wednesday. If a worm comes around after Wednesday, your computer is unprotected for almost a week. Therefore, Symantec has Intelligent Update which you may download manually from Symantec daily which includes the interim worms and viruses fixes so you do not have to be exposed until the next Wednesday.
It used to be that Norton AntiVirus would by default run weekly. I note that in the product for 2004, the interval is daily. Anyone for hourly?
The members enjoyed a short break for coffee and cookies.
Ray Long, General Manager of Santa Clara Micro Center gave a talk on what Micro Center has and how to get the best deals from them. He was joined by Brian, his district manager from Denver.
It was a very informative talk, and some really good deals were mentioned - DVD burners for $100, 120GB hard drives for $80, Norton 2004 for free (after rebates), etc. These bargains are ephemeral - the refurbished, overstocked, superseded, etc. products are marked down and put in the sale area until they are gone. More items are added continually. Stop by often! You can sign up for email announcements, shop online, arrange in-store pickup, and more.
The tech support desk will answer your questions for free. They will perform diagnostics for $85, install upgrades for $30-40, build a customized computer to your specs for $170 plus the components cost. 10-11 am and 2-3 pm are good times to go, the crowds are less.
Watch for President Day sale in February, Digital Camera Month in May, and other sales.
About manufacturers rebates - these are a great way to save, if you follow the rules. Be warned, the manufacturers are counting on 40% of the people not applying, or applying incorrectly and being ineligible. Keep copies of everything you send; if you do, Micro Center personnel can help you if you have a problem. If you don't, well, you just became one of the 40%.
Returns are refurbished and sold at a discount with a yellow tag. These are often good bargains, because it's often an incompatibility with a system that prompts the return, or a minor glitch that is easily fixed; but the product cannot be sold as new if it was returned. PowerSpec and WinBook are the Micro Center desktop and laptop house brands. They are good quality, and the desktop is customizable. They don't have so much of the "shovelware" found in other computers.
There is a 30-day price protection plan; save your receipt and if the price drops, bring in the receipt for a refund. Also, Micro Center matches their competitor's prices - bring in a flyer from Fry's or CompUSA and Micro Center will match the price.
Gateway seems to be the leader in plasma displays, but there is lots of competition, and prices should drop over the next several years. Look for a Lindows machine running on Linux but emulating the Windows interface and running Windows applications at the $200-300 price range. This will be a basic "starter box", not a gamers or high-end user's machine, but great for email and web browsing.
I was advised that popups can be prevented by disabling the "messenger service" in Windows 2000 and Windows XP. I experimented with this method on Windows 2000 for a few months and found it effective and problemless. I am not on a network that may require the messenger service for admin messages. I logged on as Administrator. I don't know about access if you are not the Admin. I do know that Windows 2000 won't let you set the clock if you are not!
Access the following (double click):
Notice that "Messenger" Status = Started and Startup Type = Automatic. Automatic means that Messenger will start automatically when you start your computer.
(N.B. - see also “Shoot the Messenger” www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,23016,tk,wb101303x,00.asp to learn how to shut down Windows Messenger Service)
Symantec acknowledges that there are some problems with their Norton Anti Virus 2004 product and that they have a fix for both. The problem is that the fixes do not take hold properly unless one carefully assures all updates are in place BEFORE rebooting - no matter what you are told at the end of the install.
There are two problems:
The fix for both of these bugs is known and is a part of the download under Live Update - the problem is that the screwups happen to preclude your being able to get TO the updates at all to fix the problems. Thus the following scenario is offered.
I have a real interest in this as I bought 25 licenses and they were all coming up short and screwing up the computers in addition.
These bugs seem to be limited to NORTON ANTI-VIRUS 2004. Indeed, we all would have been in trouble if this problem had been around for a year. This does not change the next condition, that the bug is evident if one deletes Norton Anti-Virus 2003 in preparation for installing Norton Anti-Virus 2004.
I cannot say whether updating in place will go OK or not. The reason I did the update is because the software had expired and I wanted a clean install because the amount of time granted by a reinstall of 2003. This has happened several times - especially the failure to credit the computer with the full time of the license purchased.
I can tell you that the safest action is to NOT reboot when ANY 2004 is completed installing. While holding in non-rebooted condition, initiating Live Update from the START - PROGRAMS - LIVE UPDATE route is guaranteed to provide good results and may even speed up the process.
The online versions of the PrintScreen newsletters have been archived for the years 1995 to 1999. This means when you go to the archive folder, there is only one big file, which contains the concatenated monthly newsletters in chronological order, and with a table of contents at the top of the document linked to the newsletter item. This has been done to save you time searching the archives, since you now only have one document to open per year. Also, all "active" email addresses were removed to keep them from being "scraped" by bots used by spammers to collect email addresses (the addresses not removed are defunct or non-SPAUG members).
If this archive style is popular, it can be extended to the years 2000 to 2003. There will be a temporary lag when using the Search Site function, until the indexing services at Google and Atomz to catch up to the changes. If you "Google", you should use the Archive copy for a while to avoid the 404 Not Found error (the old pages are gone).
Comments, suggestions and criticisms can be directed to the SPAUG Webmaster
Your computer will now update itself daily. There may be nothing on any particular day, but it will attempt daily when possible.