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Welcome to my Weblog. This is where I write stuff that, for the most part, pertains to updates in the Media section. It's also the place where I spew anything else I may wish to impart. So far commenting has not been available. It may remain this way or it may not. I do appreciate the views, though, so thanks for visiting!
The big spew
[ Warning: Put your reading glasses on and grab some popcorn. ;-) ]
My old Windows XP desktop machine bit the dust in the middle of June. I really liked that operating system (OS). It was a pretty good setup. It served me well for 5 years so the end was a painful parting. Since late June I've been running Windows 7 with Office 2010 on a new system here at home. There are things I like about it and things I don't like about it. I've been a Windows user for a while now starting with 3.1 up to XP Pro at work, and a user at home from 98 (minus ME & Vista) up to 7. Some knowledge of performing tasks in several different types of Windows-based programs have been gained along the way, but the skills needed to ensure a proper secure home network could be improved. It's only been within the past couple years of running XP at home that I've become more concerned with this issue. There has always been only a single desktop system setup at home since 1998 so I haven't spent a lot time learning all there is to know about the nuts and bolts of servers, networking and network security. Of course I blame myself for the previous lack of concern. As long as the computer and programs were working and I could log on to the ISP I was good to go, or so it seemed at the time. More recently, after reading some of the network and security help files (and feeling overwhelmed), it seemed to me that one needs to become a highly-educated system administrator to truly understand the complicated workings of operating systems and networks. But it also occurred to me that even if one does manage to master these subjects, one is still at the mercy of the alpha dogs above them in the e-communications technology food chain. This is the case for me right now and I'd imagine that it's probably the same for others.
So what's cool about Windows 7 on my new system?
The UI is all slick and new and that's what really counts, right? :p Ok, that was sarcasm. It really does look nice. Si, es muy bonita! For years I preferred my personalized version of the Classic Windows theme so the first things I noticed after the initial start up of 7 were the new visual features like Aero Peek and the transparency settings. I checked out all the Aero Themes and other personalization settings too, and so far I haven't looked back at the Classic theme. But I have since turned off Aero Peek and transparency, and created my own theme. All the new features are way cool but really not necessary for my customization needs. It's good to have the option to turn them off and it's nice to know that they are there if I want them back.
The new User Account Control feature is interesting. I'd imagine it's probably a welcome addition for the more knowledgeable sys admins and other uber geeks. But for folks like yours truly with limited knowledge of digital security, encryption and whatnot, it's another thing to stress over and divert attention away from doing all those other desired tasks. Hopefully this new feature will help me to better understand UA settings.
Windows Defender — Yay! Will a Windows antivirus program be next?
Haven't had any problems installing new software but there were a couple of bumps installing 2 older programs. The one with the proper install from disc eventually played nice but the other install attempt failed. It didn't seem to take long to get certain things customized to my liking within the new environment, but I can see that there's a lot more stuff to learn about. There are some things that are missing from previous versions and there is one thing that works kind of flaky in this version that was pretty stable in the others. See the section on "What sucks about Windows 7 on my new system" for more details.
More space and better speed to handle all the bells and whistles of the OS coming from the new hardware setup.
What sucks about Windows 7 on my new system?
Some features have changed, some have disappeared, and one is kind of flaky. It figures. Just when I thought I was beginning to better understand XP and the inner workings of Windows OSs in general this happens. The new one isn't a total departure from other versions so fortunately I've been able to locate the things I need to get programs and peripherals running. I was just starting to get a better handle on the basics of how IPv4 works too, and now IPv6 is here, which really doesn't suck but now I feel like I'm back at square one trying to learn the new IP stuff and all its new terminology. Overall I'd say that Windows 7 is a bit frightening at first but at the same time it's rather intriguing. I'm not against moving forward but sometimes I have doubts or concerns.
The Clipboard Viewer utility is gone.
Why does this suck? Because it was available before and now it is not. Perhaps this is no big deal for some users but I miss it because it was used frequently to view/delete stuff, especially during online sessions. I'm curious to know the true reason why this valuable resource has now been dropped in this version. This would not have been one of my ideas. :p Was it found to be some sort of a security threat? With the proliferation of phishing scams, malware, spyware and such, current conventional wisdom dictates that users should not click on links in emails or on "questionable" Web sites, but rather copy and paste URLs into address bars. This means that link copying vs clicks should be on the rise as more users become aware. So what really is the big deal with that then? The issue is that some of the more nosy Web site owners and their marketing perps (the ones who are anal about stats and filthy lucre) want desperately to know what link referrers their visitors use to access their site(s). That's not all they want to know but I already digress. Anyway, these nosy types might feel compelled to try and glean that copied clipboard information from unsuspecting visitors via scripting or other means. That's why I learned to start turning off Javascript, cookies, etc., and would choose Prompt or Disable for the "Allow Programmatic clipboard access" setting in the Internet and Restricted zones. For copied URLs I would usually use the clipboard viewer to delete them after pasting them into address bars and before clicking the Go button or hitting Enter. That — among other things — became one of my usual routines in XP for the past few years. I don't think it's a sure-fire way to avoid being tracked but it helps.
So, to whomever it was that had the bright idea to remove the clipboard viewer, may we please have this accessory returned? :p
Offline help files could be better.
I wouldn't say they're extremely terrible but at times they haven't been all they could be. For instance, the other day I could not find any useful offline help for the following search keyphrases in Outlook:
- view email source
- view+email+source
Why must we be online to get the latest help files that are ok'd for publishing? Can they not be downloaded along with all those other updates? Could they be here but I'm just not seeing them? I don't think so because for some topics I'm now getting no information at all. This BS just started the other day so now I'm really taking note. During the first 2 months of searching offline help in this edition at least some info would come up along with links to more online info, but now I've gotten a few screens that indicated the full content of the help topic is only available online. This is happening not just in Outlook but also in the main Windows help system.
By the way, this online requirement to get the latest help info and updates for software isn't specific to MS alone. This long-ass rant may mention them a lot but that's because it's the native environment I choose to run and I doubt the situation is much better with other computing solutions. I've been using a Windows OS exclusively from the beginning so I don't think I'll be jumping over the fence to other pastures anytime soon. Graphics software packages are another perfect example of the need to be online for frequent updates and upgrades. It seems like all these providers/publishers want you to live at their site(s) nowadays. Ridiculous.
The search function is flaky.
The search function in previous versions of the Windows OS was better, so I miss that too. The new one, at least on my system, is flaky and not as reliable as previous versions. I'm fairly certain I have the settings I want correct but there's the possibility that I may still have overlooked something. If not though, I'd say there were a lot more options in past versions. In 7 here, the "Add a search filter" option is currently disabled but the Size and Date options are available. The times that successful directory searches were performed did look promising, though. However, if this semi-functional feature is fully-functional only in the upgraded editions of this OS, or only while I'm online, then this is definitely a major suckage point since it's been better and available (even offline) in lesser versions/editions.
So what's cool about Office 2010 my new system?
The UI is all slick and new and that's what really counts, right? :p
Honestly though, the way the myriad of settings options for all the 2010 programs are grouped in the new Ribbon and Quick Access toolbar makes it easier to find things. The slick new UI does seem to make things a lot more user-friendly.
Outlook is a powerful email program. It does a lot of things that Outlook Express couldn't do. However, there were some very useful things that Express could do that Outlook doesn't. See the section on "What sucks about Outlook 2010 on my new system?" below for more details.
What sucks about Outlook 2010 on my new system?
No more Outlook Express
Why does this suck? Because it was available before and now it is not. With that program we had the ability to view the source of all available full email headers and message source code without ever having to fully open a message. Please excuse my ignorance but did this feature not have the ability to help a user possibly avoid nasty shit like viruses, malware, and spyware? Did it not allow us to gain more knowledge about what's going on "Backstage" in our email communications? I don't think it bodes well when useful features like this are removed from the hands of the user. We need to try and learn where all that spam crap comes from so it's easier to expose the asshats perpetrating that shit. Furthermore, was the ability to see message source code in unopened messages ever a standard feature in any version of Outlook? I know we can get the full header info if it's available but getting an unopened message's source code has never worked for me in any version of Outlook that I've used. Why is this not a feature in Outlook? It does so much but not that. Why?
Something else that sucks, other than myself if I've overlooked pertinent settings, is that in this new version of Outlook the View Source option is disabled even in opened messages. Sometimes I don't even see the View Source option at all. Could this be due to how some emails are formatted? Perhaps an upgrade to a higher edition is needed to obtain this functionality? If it's the latter then that blows.
Email header information is present for all incoming messages but it is missing for all of my outgoing messages. Again, not sure if I'm missing a setting somewhere or if I should be pointing a finger at Microsoft, the system manufacturer, my ISP, or the publisher of the fully-licensed 3rd-party antivirus/Internet security suite application that is currently installed. Yes, let's all point our (middle) fingers at the 3rd-party perps, and ourselves while we're at it … bah!
Damn. I really spilled my guts on this one. I'll probably regret posting this after I learn the answers to some of my questions in this tome. Then I'll get all shy about it and clam up again for months (or years?) and just spew about other stuff. I've been very hesitant to share my thoughts about computing/tech issues because it exposes too much info, particularly about what I know, what I think I know, and what I don't know about sooo many things. It seems like whenever I feel confident I know something about a certain subject it usually turns out that I either:
- have a pretty good handle on it,
- thought I knew more than what I really know, or
- don't know shit from shinola.
Sometimes I feel like Sgt. Schultz from Hogan's Heroes … I know nuss'ing! :-)
Hooboy. What could possibly be next?
dicentes enim se esse sapientes stulti facti sunt– Romani I:XXII Vulgata
[ Comments ] Posted: 29 August 2010
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