Windows Tips and Tricks

Google Maps, MapQuest, and similar services are very useful for getting directions on how to drive somewhere. However, we are talking about computer-generated directions and, like anything from a computer, the results are not always optimal. Sometimes the directions go out of the way in order to include an interstate highway or do not include some desired mid-point. I use mapping services all the time and sometimes the results even border on the bizarre. So it is a nice step forward that Google Maps has added a function that allows you to drag the computer-generated route with your mouse to include places that you wish to add or to modify the routing.

ZDNet reports:

Five months after its introduction, Microsoft is discontinuing a program that offered some Windows Vista purchasers the ability to buy additional copies of the operating system at a substantial discount.

Since Windows Vista went on sale to consumers at the end of January, U.S. and Canadian buyers of Vista Ultimate have had the option of buying up to two additional copies of Vista–albeit the Home Premium version–for an additional $50 apiece. The company had said it would re-evaluate the “Windows Vista Family Discount” after June 30.

In a posting on the Windows Vista Team Blog, Microsoft product manager Nick White said the program would “sunset” as of 11:59 p.m. PDT on June 30.

Tom’s Hardware has its latest guide to buying a color inkjet printer:

This is the first in a series of four planned buyer’s guides on consumer-oriented printers available for use with computers. This guide covers the most-popular color inkjet printers, with a special emphasis on units suitable for home or SOHO use. Upcoming guides will cover multi-function printers that copy, print and fax (and sometimes scan). We will also look at color and monochrome laser printers as well.

As to be expected at this hardware-oriented site, there is quite a bit about various specs. All these technical details may be more than the average home user wants to know but here is the conclusion:

Though we trimmed the field of candidates from well over 200 to just over 11 for this buyers’ guide, there’s something for nearly everybody to like in what’s left at prices that range from $30 to $260. Given the amazing amounts of functionality and the respectable output speeds that even the least expensive of these printers offer, we are impressed by the state of inkjet printer art and science.

We give special marks to the Lexmark Z1300 for offering decent print and photo quality at a very low price, and also to the Canon Pixma iP6310D and Epson Stylus Photo R380 for delivering outstanding photo-handling features at very reasonable costs. Any of the printers in this guide is likely to satisfy your needs for low-volume output, but only the HP Business Inkjet is likely to be able to satisfy needs somewhat beyond such modest levels. That printer and the Lexmark Z1420 also earn bonus points for offering a wireless 802.11b/g interface, in addition to more typical interfaces (USB for both and parallel for the HP).

If you use the Firefox browser, you may have had problems with Web sites that have content requiring Windows Media Player. You may have not installed the necessary plug-in or you may be having trouble with a buggy plug-in. Microsoft has released a new version of the Firefox plug-in and it can be downloaded here.

If you use Microsoft Outlook (not Outlook Express) watch out for a fake security bulletin. ZDNet reports:

If you (or someone you know) receives an e-mail about a zero-day exploit affecting Microsoft Outlook do not, under any circumstances, click on the links embedded in the message. It’s a phishing scam folks. The Security Bulletin (MS07-0065) it points to doesn’t exist. And just because it can never be said too often, I’ll say it again here. Microsoft does not alert users to security issues via e-mail. Ever.

More information is available from the security firm Sophos.

An article at Wired says Google Maps is changing the way we see the world. The article says that by letting millions of people add data to maps, entire regions are being remapped with much greater detail:

Whether it’s citizens appearing at local zoning-board meetings with elaborate Google Earth presentations or the Air Force using the app to reach victims during Hurricane Katrina, the new mapmaking is about much more than spotting your house in a satellite photo. “This is about individuals as local observers, creating their own map data,” says Michael Goodchild, a professor of geography at UC Santa Barbara. “It’s 6 billion pairs of eyes.”

You may have seen the computer hard drive term “RAID” and wondered what it meant or whether it was something you might want. RAID is an acronym that refers to a setup using multiple disks to make information processing faster and/or safer. A common explanation of the meaning of the term is “Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks”. The term “Inexpensive” is misleading, however, and others use “Independent” or “Interconnected”. All of this straining to find a word beginning with the letter “I” is irrelevant so take your pick. Everybody just uses RAID.

Multiple disks can be used together in various ways, depending on your purpose. I have previously discussed some of these disk setups elsewhere but RAID is becoming more common on high-end home computers so I am visiting the topic again.

If protecting data against drive failure is paramount, a method called “mirroring” is used. This means that data is copied on more than one drive so that the failure of one drive still leaves the data intact on another drive. It also allows for faster reading of information. Obviously, this setup costs you twice as much for the same storage capacity but it is one way to not have to worry about backing up. (Important data should still be backed up to an external medium, however.) In the jargon of the trade, the basic mirroring setup is called RAID-1. There are also more complicated setups using three or more disks but these are expensive and are used only in servers and where maximum fault tolerance is essential.

Gamers and others who put a premium on systems being fast may use another RAID setup that uses “striping”. In this method, information is stored by allocating it alternately and evenly to each of the disks. The purpose is to speed up getting the information on and off. The basic setup is called RAID-0. You get to use the full capacity of both disks. If one of the drives fails, however, everything is lost since various pieces of a file are stored on different disks. In order to provide fault tolerance, more complicated setups can be also made.

More detail on RAID can be found in a TechRepublic article by George Ou (registration required).

Personally, I am tired of all the hype about the Apple iPhone, but since many are curious about it, I will give links to two reviews that are just out. One is a review by Walter Mossberg, who is a top expert on consumer electronics and says:

We have been testing the iPhone for two weeks, in multiple usage scenarios, in cities across the country. Our verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer. Its software, especially, sets a new bar for the smart-phone industry, and its clever finger-touch interface, which dispenses with a stylus and most buttons, works well, though it sometimes adds steps to common functions.

Another review is from David Pogue, who writes in the New York Times:

Talk about hype. In the last six months, Apple’s iPhone has been the subject of 11,000 print articles, and it turns up about 69 million hits on Google. Cultists are camping out in front of Apple stores; bloggers call it the “Jesus phone.” All of this before a single consumer has even touched the thing.

So how is it?

As it turns out, much of the hype and some of the criticisms are justified. The iPhone is revolutionary; it’s flawed. It’s substance; it’s style. It does things no phone has ever done before; it lacks features found even on the most basic phones.

All I can say is that the gadget better be good; it costs $500 to $600.

Update: ZDNet gives a summary of some reviews

I’ve just been to the dentist and I don’t feel like writing anything weighty so here is my list of some items in the news that bore me:

• Paris Hilton, in jail or out
• Fred Thompson maybe thinking about running for president
• The Apple iPhone
• Problems in the love lives of French politicians
• Constant predictions about the economy, which are never right

There are many resources on the Web for finding definitions, acronyms, and the meaning of phrases. One site that claims to have over 2 million terms, phrases and acronyms is MetaGlossary.com. Although it is not unique, I find it to be a useful resource.