My first discovery was that Microsoft is offering a $30.00 Student Upgrade Home Premium version. Coming from the Open Source world of not paying for feature rich applications this price seemed reasonable for an entire operating system with Windows Media Center. What was not reasonable was the fact that Digital River the company offering the $30.00 download did not supply a ISO image of the installation disk. Their digital download was simply an executable file meant to be launched from within Windows Vista. I simply found this unacceptable. After some Googling I discovered that Microsoft had addressed the issue and supplied links to ISO files for each of the four version of Windows 7 offered through Digital River.

The overall theme of Windows 7 seems much improved over Vista. While the core layout is unchanged color schemes and navigation have had a over haul. Overall the operating system feels more uniform and coherent. All of the default icons in the notification area are white with a gray background instead of all different colors. Many of the navigation issues from Vista have also been corrected.

Lately, I have been largely a Ubuntu Linux user. Coming back to Windows Vista from Ubuntu is very aggravating.  It always felt as though Vista was waiting to do everything. I would boot into Vista and simply get mad at how long it took things to load compared to Ubuntu. Windows 7 relieves that pain.

Seven is very stable. I have been running it for about four days and have not experienced any problems whatsoever. When Vista was first released I would experience hanging processes, it would refuse to take updates, and it would corrupt my external hard drive as to be unreadable. These were all issues I have experienced on three different machines. Windows Vista wasn’t even bearable until Service Pack 1. Here we are at launch of Windows 7 and I have yet to even experience a hanging process.

Windows 7 is simply sleek, fast, stable, and with the student upgrade version affordable. Is it better than Windows XP? I don’t know if it is better but it does continue to receive updates. If you are on XP I would consider upgrading. Anyone on Vista should definitely upgrade.

When a system is infected the best way to take care of it is to use what is called a live cd. A live cd is a disc that your computer boots off of and runs an operating system environment from instead of Windows. This link “Jiri’s - Virus and how to get rid of it using free Bootable Linux Antivirus CD” has the steps to create the cd and use it to scan for viruses while windows is dormant. The advantage of this is that the trojan is inactive while the virus scanner is trying to take care of it.

My newest Ubuntu endeavour has been backing up my DVD collection specifically for use with my Xbox 360. The traditional way of doing this under Windows would be using Dvd Shrink, Dvd Decryptor, Any DVD, DVD 43, or a number of other rippers then re-encoding the video using Handbrake. This is a simple task except that I don’t want to use Windows.

There are a number of DVD ripping applications for Ubuntu including K9Copy which is considered to be equivilant to DVD Shrink. In my experience using Acid Rip DVD Ripper, K9Copy, and DVD::Rip none of them consistantly worked with a variety of films. Often they would not see all video tracks or would not detect the disc in the drive. Instead of messing around and trying to get the specific applications to work I found a different way.

My solution to ripping DVDs for my Xbox 360 in Ubuntu was to install DVD Shrink using Wine and then install the native Linux Deb package of Handbrake. DVD Shrink allows me to select only the video track of the main feature and output it as a .vob file. I then use Handbrake to encode the .vob file to a .mp4 file using Handbrakes Xbox 360 preset. The only modification to the preset was to select the video tab and choose the bullet for quality and set it for 70.

All you have to do then is either copy the files to a FAT32 format external hard drive for the 360 or stream the files using a NAS or Windows Media Center PC.

Recently after spending years in a Microsoft environment I have migrated to Ubuntu. In the past I have went on spurts of curiosity running Ubuntu for weeks at a time only to find myself returning to Windows. It is my opinion that I finally fit the Ubuntu lifestyle and Ubuntu finally warrants it.

One month ago I tried Intrepid on my laptop which is my primary computer. There were several minor issues right away such as my audio not cutting to my headphone jack when headphones were inserted and the brightness sensor on my laptop constantly setting my screen for maximum darkness. After resolving these issues I was very pleased with the current state of Ubuntu. My wireless networking worked which was the primary problem I had in switching over a year ago. Since I live on my laptop it really is a deal breaker when your wireless doesn’t work.

When Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty was released my bluetooth  mouse was fixed which has never worked right with Ubuntu before and Samba networking with my NTFS NAS is 100% better.

Since I have made the switch to Ubuntu I have continually been challenging myself to perform tasks I am accustomed to performing on Windows in my new operating system. When I have to burn a .avi file to dvd or encode audio files from one format to another I go to my Ubuntu installation and find a way to do it. I can’t really put my finger on what exactly it is that compells me to love Ubuntu soo much. It may be that it reminds me of when Firefox was unknown and you just wanted to support it becuase it was fast, secure, and logical.

“Nine Inch Nails performing Just Like You Imagined”

In case you are wondering what a Theremin is click here.

Shortly after the bailout this appeared on GateCityBank.com. It has been the message of the day every day since.

The system would come with a standard 20 GB laptop hard drive which could be swapped for a larger one if necessary. This system would have built in 802.11N. All games would be purchased off of a store similar to Steam or the Apple app store. Developers would be encouraged to develop for it by receiving a high percentage of the revenue from their games. The online service would be free.

The problems that I am experiencing with the new Ipod Touch are firmware related. As mentioned earlier I purchased the 32GB model because I use it for Apple Lossless Audio playback. So I purchased some new cds and used DB Poweramp to rip them into Apple Lossless. While working out I started to notice that my music was skipping and having pauses. I thought that it may have been a bad rip although DB Poweramp uses a checksum system to verify proper rips.

When I got home I played the album directly from my Itunes library and noticed no skipping or pausing. After searching Google and reading the Apple support forums I have determined that it is a 2.1 firmware problem playing back Apple Lossless. Apple Lossless is their own audio format and they can’t even get their Ipods to play it back properly.

Other than they very annoying pauses and skips in my songs I do love my new Touch althoug it isn’t a huge step up from the 1 Gen. The reccomendation system is pretty worthless when the novelty wears off and the new shape of it isn’t really any better in my opinion. It has also crashed several times while installing apps from the app store which is another 2.1 firmware problem.

The ability to use Nike+ is something that I am very pleased with.

“TheForce.net recently spoke to a LucasArts representative who spoke about the much wished-for PC version of The Force Unleashed. They did not respond very positively.“It definitely will not be coming to PC.” ” ForceUnleashed.net

LucasArts is making a mistake by not releasing this game on PC. They boast their new Euphoria engine which enables characters to perform complex biomechanical AI. When a character is thrown they will do things such as trying to grab onto things to try to save themselves.

I don’t know if LucasArts is doing this because of the allegedly low PC game sales as of late. There are reports that PC gaming is dieing due to piracy and the advances in the console market. I ask why doesn’t LucasArts release this game over STEAM? I personally think it is ridiculous that a game boasting state of the art AI doesn’t come out on PC.

Please sign the petition here to get Force Unleashed on PC. 26,228 Total Signatures

“Network neutrality is the principle that Internet users should be in control of what content they view and what applications they use on the Internet. The Internet has operated according to this neutrality principle since its earliest days. Indeed, it is this neutrality that has allowed many companies, including Google, to launch, grow, and innovate. Fundamentally, net neutrality is about equal access to the Internet. In our view, the broadband carriers should not be permitted to use their market power to discriminate against competing applications or content. Just as telephone companies are not permitted to tell consumers who they can call or what they can say, broadband carriers should not be allowed to use their market power to control activity online. Today, the neutrality of the Internet is at stake as the broadband carriers want Congress’s permission to determine what content gets to you first and fastest. Put simply, this would fundamentally alter the openness of the Internet.” Google

Recently, Internet Service Provider Comcast has introduced a new experimental business model in which they regulate the amount of bandwidth their users can access. The subscription allows for 40 GB of bandwidth per month. Clients using more than the alotted 40 GB will pay a penalty fee for exceeding their bandwidth.

There have also been rumors of ISP’s regulating what websites can be accessed by having a tiered system. For example $19.00 a month and you get access to 200 major sites such as Google, MSN, Myspace similar to cable television packages. These models are very bad because they make it harder for the do it yourself site admin to be sucessful online.

Do not support Comcast or any ISPs that regulate your traffic.