Computing Wishlist (as of today)

This is my current computing wishlist:

1. Freeform Data:  Basically a wedge between FileMaker, MySQL, Evernote, Outliner and FreeMind
2. more of #1
3. A way to "search" your watchlist in Ebay
4. An easy path for upgrading OpenERP/Odoo when you have community add ons installed
5. FileMaker for Android
6. Drop in Digital Film for Old 35mm cameras
7. Functional replacement for ActiveDirectory and Microsoft networking
8. Easy virtualization of old Mac Machines (yes, I am sure there is a way)
9. Multiple Layer Outlining in Google Keep
10. Return of Google Notebook (why not to trust Google, Clouds, etc - this is a clear example)

Ok, pictures needed.  Outlines of products.  etc etc.

All of these though are opportunities worth pursuing.

PogoPlug is great if you don't like speed...

We found and have found practical PogoPlug www.pogoplug.com which lets you build a personal/family cloud.

The device itself that started us allows you to attach to your network, attach a few External Hard Drives and be able to access the files from anywhere  (passwords etc all required).

Well recently they hooked me for their "Unlimited Cloud" which basically lets you store files to the PogoPlug servers.  It is SLOW as HELL to store to them. 

But I was also finding just now that our DSL network was really slow at the house.  I did a simple Speed Test  (http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/) and I was getting between .15 and .25 mb sec download and about .07 to .1  (deimals there).

Then I unplugged the Pogo Plug and speed jumped to 1.25 mb Download and .75mb Upload.

I then replugged PogoPlug and it slowed down again.

Logged into PogoPlug: View (their website) and I turned OFF  Cloud Sync.  Speeds went back up.

Cloud Sync theoretically backs up your PogoPlug local devices to their cloud.  (I am sure the NSA has invested in this)...  In theory that is a good idea as redundency is the key to security relative to hardware failure.  However, a month later there is Total 182 GB in my Cloud, while the device it wants to back up has 782 GB.  I don't think the Backups will ever be complete.

Old adage is, don't move lots of data far.  I will work a way to backup each drive locally and perhaps turn Cloud Sync on at night sometime (to fill up the pipes and pogoplug servers and likely to aid the NSA in filling their own).

Don't move data too far.  Turning off again...  and I just visiteand they are selling "safe plug" to further fill the pipes.... I'm going to do some wood work now.

Adobe, AVG and everyone else - DO NOT ADD more search etc to my system

Every company who is trying to stuff other programs onto my system is one step closer to losing me as a customer.

Adobe Flash updates it seems every week (maybe every month) and they stuff McCaffe Security on.

AVG ditto, goes and replaces my search engine and tries to get me to add who knows how many items.

I like a clean ship.  Uninstall does work.  Maybe Mr. Jobs is correct about the problem w/ Flash.  There are other Anti-Virus packages as well.

Personal IT need not be a chore. And yes, perhaps I really am a Luddite.

Keeping your records, photos, to-do lists, technical notes all in order and findable is a job which requires planning, testing and ultimately "settling".  It is somewhat akin to building a house then living in it.

But houses last longer than IT platforms.  I look back through just the posts I have here to see how the landscape is changing.

I am, in many ways, a Luddite.  I don't like change.  I want everything to work as it did on my Apple III, and before that in college on the Time Sharing system.  Back then what drove me was, at one point, having the fastest modem connection (and the Mmdem was coupled to the phone with a set of foam cups to block out background sounds).  Later it was about the fastest Graphic setup and, wow, Color Monitors and graphics.  Cool to see those test curves spit out from my basic programs simulating....  (more about that later).

And now the measures are not all that different.  How fast does it take to post a new product or blog entry?  How fast can I find that note about the process to upgrade a Debian package, or gain root access to the forgotten File Server  (the File Server probably should be reviewed and shut down if it is not being used).

Computing takes time.  Time away from the fun things.  Time away from some of the important things.  Not all of life is on a computer, or tablet or phone.

Yes, I am a luddite.  I think of my father who had a wonderful wonderful life.  He was out doing more, learning more, fixing more, teaching more than anyone I have ever known.  Yet, though he loved his lists and his gadgets, his greatest frustration was around keeping them all in order, in learning new systems.  Not long before his passing he got a new Iphone, the most powerful one.  I put together the systems so it would link with his email and his Ipad, and even bring forward all of his Palm Notes, which were built on his old Casio Notes...  And though this was so important it was also a great frustration for him.  His ability to learn and retain the learning was leaving him, and he knew it.

We have access to his notes.  The digital kind is not so compelling as the taped and carded kind.  How to use this tool, and sharpen that blade.  Where to get more of this sort of light bulb.  How long the last one lasted.  The choke setting for this motor, the method to start that pump.   And all of this placed where it may be needed.  Notes to himself and notes to us with postmarks and a knowledge that he may not be there always to conjur the answers he always had.

He was the super computer and our job now is to keep the knowledge gleaned.   Thank you dad!

Adobe, where is the OpenSource>

Adobe is awesome.
Adobe is irritating
Adobe is difficult

I have used Adobe since version 2 Photoshop.  Version 88 Illustrator  Version 1 (pre Adobe) Pagemaker

I still use it but I am often questioning why.

Why can't InDesign "Save As" a Previous version that is more than one generation earlier?

Why can't CS4 still be purchased easily when CS6 is out (so multiple users can share the same files?)

Why can't Lightroom 4 work on a XP system?

Why can't Lightroom run on MySQL and be multi user?

Why can Lightroom run on SQLLite database and not be OpenSource?

Why can't...

Why can't someone come up with a reasonable set of alternatives?
I think the answer to that one is that Adobe will simply buy them out and put them out of business as they did with Macromedia.  Whatever happened to Corel?  Where is OpenStudio when we have OpenOffice available?

Adobe has been and is a great company. They were there at the outset making desktop publishing possible.  But they did not invent computers, data bits, networks.  Their work also comes from the work of others.

I do admire that they put CS2 out on a somewhat open basis when CS1 and  CS2 hit the doldrums.  You can do quite a lot with it and it is nice not chacing your license chain around on the old computers you just want to have packed up like a file cabinet.

But someone needs to tie and OpenStudio together.  Lets work on that.

More bad Karma at Google

What may I ask is wrong with XLS and DOC formats?

http://www.eweek.com/enterprise-apps/google-docs-drops-export-support-for-old-microsoft-office-formats/

At least there is OpenOffice.  Google Docs should export natively.  (perhaps they do, but I doubt it)

Google Docs and Google Drive - Not worth Sharing

This post is much more succinct than I will be.

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/google-in-the-enterprise/maybe-it-is-time-you-actually-read-that-google-drive-terms-of-service/1072

The other problem is terrible performance and freqent crashes of Google Drive on Windows XP.

I have uninstalled on XP.  Seems like the next step is to withdraw from Google Docs.

They do not have rights to "creative derivatves" of my files whether I checked some box or not.

DOING NO EVIL means DOING NO EVIL!  Respect your users Google!

Less about why and more about how...

Navigating your complete  computer set up is much more difficult with the fast pace of change that has been brought about by the mobile and cloud introduction.

I have been surfing around a bit this morning reviewing and exploring the various things I have access to now  in my personal domain...  cloud folders, multiple blogs that need posting to, virtual machines and their resource limits..  various things.  It is a lot to keep track of.

What are the important take a ways? 

1. The first is that practice is critical in developing skill.  This is true for sports, it is true in ones profession and craft.  It is true in computing.
2. Inter-Relations of systems is a critical path.  Once easy to establish within a office domain, the mobile web and the potential need for granulated sharing with others brings complications.  Solutions exist but not without cost and administration.
3. The goal is being effective.  Administration may be defined as part of this goal but ultimately it is the content, the creation of content, the access to that content and the effect of that content that ultimately matters most.
4. Administration is important but it has its own cost.  It likewise has its own benefit and properly done it more than makes up for the investment.
5. Exploration of possibilities and settling on directions is a bifurcated process.

And to leave the Whazup intact, this one can be directed at me.  What is that Mind Map and how is it Navigated.  More to follow.

Older Post... perhaps interesting still "Curious to see how Microsoft Hangs their Hat"

If you go to Best Buy you can buy MS Office "Home and Student" version for about $130. If you go to Ebay you can find a 3 user license of the same for $79 and even less...

Sure it is worth shopping around. I think the other subject is how MS hangs its hook. Getting folks in their new system, all surrounded by their new "Web Space" of Live.com and they get us hooked. Their whole angle with these things is to have a massive user base that no one can ignore. If all this forces the lawyers and doctors of the world to ante up $500 a piece for their version of Office Ultimate they have won their game.

I am trying not to. I do like MS OneNote 2007. I bought that and it works very well. This comes, by the way, in the lowly "Home and Student" version which is critically missing Access Database but has the other "more essentials" of Word, Excel and Powerpoint (yes also OneNote).

Remember the Slogan "Just Say No"... I try to say that about MS. They have a few great sofware pieces. FoxPro, which they are discontinuing, they purchased from Fox Software many many years ago. It is a wonderful piece and worth getting a hold of before it is gone. Their angle here is to hook everyone on SQL Server. They are doing a good job of it... but I am trying not to go there. I have the advantage of not really knowing SQL syntax and having a great base w/ FoxPro... but like I said "Just Say No" to MS.

The alternatives, it seems to me, right now are OpenOffice and Google Docs. Both are basically free. It is hard to miss the advertising in Gmail (but worth trying to find a way). The rest of the system should at least be explored. And OpenOffice, all I can say, lets all get it done and jump through the hoops. MS is making their software awful "cozy" w/ their transparencies and "silverlight" system. It is on the surface. Just emulate it. Don't get hooked. It will cost forever.

I will let you know when I am MS free. I don't know when that might be, if ever.

PogoPlug is pulling a Fast One (or is it pulling the Plug?)

Though they advertise:

No fees, no limits

Pogoplug devices give you unlimited cloud storage from the security of your home or office for a one-time fee.

It appears that PogoPlug is changing their program and trying to sell the software that they included with their HD Sharing Devices originally.  They can't even "speak straight" on their web page  https://pogoplug.com/devices

Don't trust them and don't upgrade. Your time is worth more than you know.

Dot Net installs as part of Program installs has got to Go

The last time I loaded a program that required Microsoft's .NET framework my boot drive was corrupted. Here I am again trying to install the program and it is taking Forever and I am nervous whether, again, it will corrupt my XP system.

Java here and there is bad enough but this is a veritable Rainforest of Code that is loading, and just so I can get to a PogoPlug drive.. totally inappropriate programming technique. I don't understand that PogoPlug can have a Mac, Windows and Linux version of their software and they have to use .NET on the Windows install.

There are other irritations but this is really a big one for me!

Trying to give the Postal Service money seems not enough for them.. simply wanting to provide quotes for postage

We use a very popular "open source" E-Commerce system called Magento. Magento is now owned by Ebay and though community supported it is also commercially supported in no small way.

For using FedEx all we need to do is put our account number in the back end administration panel and be sure that products have a weight assigned to them and shipping quotes and costs are provided in Magento.

So, some of the things we ship are small and the most affordable way to deliver them to customers is via the postal service. However, if we want to "enable" the "built in" USPS package we have to first "register" with USPS as a developer, then go through a series of very arcane tests of our system that are designed for people actually "coding" a system rather than just implementing the system. On their confirmation email we get, among a whole bunch of "you shalls" a User ID, Password, Phone number to call and Email address to send communications to.

They say that emails will be responded to (they don't say when)... I am 3 days now into waiting, and have sent 2 follow up emails. The Phone number provided is not answered even though the hours given are 7:00AM to 11:00PM Eastern Time.

Really I am just trying to provide shipping quotes. It seems our Postal Service is in need of more revenue. That said, they sure don't want to have it be easy for their customers to give it to them.

And on top of all this, they state, in no uncertain terms:

The Web Tools User ID provided is for you and your company to use when requesting data via the Internet from the U.S. Postal Service API servers. This unique User ID cannot be shared with others outside your organization, nor is it to be packaged and distributed or sold to other individuals, businesses or e-commerce web site entities.

It sure is a pity for the poor service provider whos business it is to help companies set systems set up.. they will need to repeat this process every time a new system is set up.

I suppose I am also curious why the email does not actually come from the Postal Service, but comes from "registration@shippingapis.com" and asks that emails be sent to "uspstechsupport@esecurecare.net" ... Outsourcing to No End.

Blog This! | Blogger Buzz

Blog This! | Blogger Buzz:

'via Blog this'

Too bad it is just Blogger Specific.. But sure goes quick.

By this I mean, the Blog-This Extension that connects to blogger.com.. Link is above.

After this post I went and found a similar plug in that ties into some other content pages... All told these methods are easier than going to a web site, opening a new post, writing etc. If one can work in an extension the subject is at hand while one is actually writing... rather than this blank white sheet on this edit page I find myself in here.

You think you need one Server do you?

If you read the marketing spiel a Windows Server will do 1000 things. If you try to use a Windows server however you may easily find that you need, in fact 2, 3, 5 or 10 Servers to do all the work that is asked of it.

Take a look at the Terminal Server Farm here:

I dont even know if the Domain Controller is listed, much less the backup Domain Controller.

One Server for Licensing. One Server for Load Balancing, etc etc. Dont forget DNS. Don't forget Wins. Don't forget.. ad infinitum.

All this takes a lot of time to implement, not to speak of hardware and licensing expense. And then there is power. Virtualization helps, but the last I read, certain roles are not recomended for virtualization.. Domain Controlling is one. The Slowness of Virtualization would call into question having your Terminal Server be virtualized. Maybe the licensing server. Perhaps a backup Domain Controller, the DNS server etc (why are those not part of the primary Domain Control Role anyway). I suppose they generally are, but redundancy makes its call.

Terminal Services are, for sure, great tools. A functioning server can generally be accomplished more easily than the picture shows. Still, some very high costs are out there, especially if you are pushing the OS up from the client level.

Time to research VNC again.

Google Pulling the Plug on Notebook..

One of the best pieces of software from Google, and for that matter anyone, has been Google Notebook. Unfortunately, back in 2008, after I had been using it for about a year, Google stopped allowing new signups. They told all of us users that our Data is not going anywhere... we just couldn't do the cool sharing we had been doing... at least not with new invites.

Well here we are 3 years later and the data is going away. Well, actually they are exporting it all to Google Docs. I just did a "test export" before their auto export... At least something.

I will miss Google Notebook. I have been using Evernote in its stead. No where near as good for my usage, except for the fact that it actually works on my Phone plus my Computer... G Notebook certainly could have pulled this off.

What is the difference? I think it is the Hierarchy that could be made in Google Notebook. The Notebook, Sections and Notes part, with the ability to very very easily move things around, search and more.

And what of Trust? Well we thought Google Notebook would be for the long term. We assume, from the name, that Evernote will be forever. None of it. Palm notes are dead. I expect X-Marks maybe short for the world. Organize and make redundant. About all we can do it seems. Try Tracks Appliance and do it yourself: Keep on top of it. Try to recreate Google Docs. This might be the best solution.

Computing landscapes are changing faster than we know.

What were normal protocols a year ago even are almost forgotten. Older Data Methods are becoming more and more difficult to maintain, while new systems pervade, their ease and flexibility is still for the future.

Cases in Point: FileMaker Pro and FoxPro. Two of the leaders going back to the 80's are either esoteric or moth balled. They do still, in general work (not that I have tried in Windows 7 to be honest). MySQL and variations like Postgre, MSSQL etc are the new standards... Theoretically systems like Crystal still tie these all together and let you at least organize the data. But being fast and fluent on the earlier systems does not bring much in terms of skills towards the new systems.

In other regards the new modus of Web Centric computing, balanced with a level of "smartphone" checkups is becoming the standard. Having an active Windows Client/ or Mac Client / or Linux Client are still the base stations from which to work, but that which is being worked upon is less and less actually on the desktop.

All for the good. Perhaps not a Whazup at all... But it is likely that the skills and knowledge of the old systems are often being lost. Perhaps it will not be important except for forensics.. still "how we got here" will be important to understand. How we go forward, in control of our data, likewise will also be important, and not always obvious.

Onward ho.

NT Domains, then Wink2K Win2k3, Win2k8 Domains, then Samba NT Domains bring us full circle

Microsoft hit a home run with their NT Domain methodology... Then the Internet started to "take ownership" of the "Domain Model" so Microsoft updated Windows 2000 with DNS level controls in their new Active Directory Domains..

All fine and dandy unless you really want a secure system and you didn't even want to Mix the Internet with your "office space"... It works, but it seems to need 3 servers to trust it and make sure it works.

Windows 2003, then Windows 2008 Servers all had their improvements and complications, but in my experience they also add complications to the management of a small system (and also cost). For me the domain needs to be about defining the network and getting some work done. It is not about getting a 3 level certification in IT protocols blessed in orthodoxy.

Recently I have started testing a Samba (Ubuntu based) Domain Controller that emulates the NT Domain on a Linux Stack. So far, pretty good.. Fast performance and reliable. In the end it is something else to learn If I really want to stick to it. That said, I pushed go, got it turned on, have attached 3 computers to the Domain and its been running for a week without any problems.

The important part is that it is being developed and continued by an active group (unlike MS NT , Win2K at MS.. in factwhy don't they open source NT?).. I have a Win2008 Server running in the Samba Domain just for comparison. The beauty of this is that about anything including Win2007 and my Windows 7 Machines can join the Samba Domain. My Windows NT Domains are not so friendly w/ Windows 7. Still, I get the simplicity of a simple domain structure that I grew to appreciate on the old NT Model.

There are many things to learn in life. One I am hoping to learn is not to spend too much time on Microsoft systems that will be thrown away before I am actually done using them. Putting Terminal CAL's on that 2008 Server is not something I am running to spring for either, though this may be one of the only arguments for not jumping ship entirely.

Try the Samba Domain controller: A good one is http://www.turnkeylinux.org/domain-controller:

Norton wanting to take over something... on a HP Tablet...

So,
I just upgraded my laptop from a HP TC4200 to a TC4400... small number change big performance change. Twice the Ram, SATA not PATA, dual core not single core... and at ebay prices.

Fresh install of the OS. And when I start up I get Norton 2006, protect yourself invitations... When I look at Windows Security it says that I am fully protected and that anti virus is running. Norton tells me that I must "continue" to have full protection (and Microsoft says I am fully protected even when I close the "Norton Continue" prompt)....

So get this.. I push Continue. I am given a screen that gives me the option to "Accept" or "Do not Accept" their terms. Funny thing is if you push "Do not Accept" you actually are not given any options. The system does not turn off. You don't get a "how can I get you to change your mind" dialog. Nothing. The program just sits there. There is nothing one can do except push the RED X-BOX. I will in a minute...



I have two full corporate versions of Norton/Symantec Anti Virus. I have been migrating (first happily, and now less and less so) to AVG Anti Virus. I realize one is important, but this is a brand new build, I need to make up my mind, and I am irritated by both companies now. AVG's weak suit is how much the bog down your system and how they keep loading b*F&y#crap onto your Browser bar. Someone else was doing that today also... Sun-Java. I will not give Yahoo one penney becaus of all these things they are trying to load with other packages.

We talk about "Net Neutrality" which is super super important. But "Pile On" computing is as important. It is not just about what you accept and don't accept it is about the fact that they go deeper and deeper into everything you do.

We only live so long. We don't need this as an irritation.
Let's make a "clean system" build and move on.

all for now.

What happens at "end of life"

I would like to know... Can ou get the last security update?

I am still even running a NT server bundled up behind the firewall because it simply works.

Wonder if it is upgradable to win2008. I doubt it.

----------
update: Read about Samba a few posts after this.
NT is more intuitive than Samba. Samba is more intuitive, in general, than Win 2008. Can they all work together? So Far yes.. that is so long as Win2008 connects to the Samba Domain and not the Windows NT Domain itself. Don't ask me why. Just the way it is.

Pay or Play Software. Likely Play (we do that anyway)

I was just here, "surfing" and decided to make a blog of "whatsups". http://www.computerperformance.co.uk/vbscript/index.htm ... I think I am over w/ commercial software offerings. We will see if that plays out. I was reading the following and got all, I'm not sure, put off by wanting to "pay attention even!"

I highly doubt that Msoft will continue to suport VBscript as they have not supported Intradev (I can't hardly remember the name of the system I invested thousands into).... what about Front Page.... what is the new name? Oh, and then there is Office... can't even write a ".csv" file correctly... my god. Microsoft.... they used to own the world... now they own some property in Seattle.

Possibly very interesting but at what "cost' and when will it not be supported any more by "msoft" (not sure why I didn't't even want to write it)... we spend a lot of time keeping these going so we can throw them away. Not like a normal tool, like a chissel or saw that will work for more than a decade.

Software is changing. MS has some systems like "domains" that lock you in. Linux has some systems like SSH that throw you off (but MS has the same).. then Apple locks you in, full system not a part.

I am seeing the "open path" forward ... an open path marked mostly by "virtual machines' in "VMWARE" or similar.... not sure how it will work out but time not inclusive I am sure it will be less than upgrading from Windows 2000 server x 6..... To be quiet to the point you can do quite a bit with a $2.00 a month hosting system if you spend some time workng through it. You will get a web site in the deal as well (look for cpanel.... softalacious... fantastico (less so)...

reading time.