Dove in and installed Windows XP Service Pack 3 on my Everex Cloudbook last night (all night! Big updates on a little PC are slow).  If not for anything else, I’m glad there’s a single update that will save me from having to do the 100+ other updates since SP2 on a new install of XP.

What kills me about most of the updates looking at the release notes is that most of everything in SP3 (listed as major items) has already been released previously as stand-alone updates.  So basically I downloaded this huge 500MB file of stuff containing mostly stuff I already have.  Nice.

There are a few new features that enhance networking.  “Black Hole” router detection, which will help connection issues with routers that have a low packet size limit and don’t report dropped packets back properly.  And Network Access Protection which looks like it’s targeted more at corporate customers than home users.  It’s a method by which tech folks at a company can limit access to the network based on whether or not your PC meets or doesn’t meet a certain level of compliance with established corporate policies.  So basically that means if your computer is determined to have a very outdated virus scanner, your PC will be restricted to access on the network, except for being able to connect to the servers that update your pattern files.  Just one example.

There’s other updates, you can read about them HERE.  I really don’t want to bore you with the details, I’m sure you can do that to yourself on your own time.  The rumors are floating around that XP SP3 allegedly performs a little better than SP2 did.  This might not mean much for folks out there running dual-core systems with 4 GB of RAM, but for us UMPC users with hardware specs from 3+ years ago, this could be quite an improvement to our Windows experience.

Whatever the case, I have to laugh at the fact that this is another roadblock in Microsoft’s path towards getting rid of XP from its lineup.   Seems that Microsoft just isn’t going to be able to shake XP loose.  Dell just announced that they’re going to take advantage of a loophole which will allow them to factory-install Windows XP using the “downgrade clause” in the license agreement.

Add that to the fact that if Microsoft wants to play in the UMPC space, they’re going to either have to come up with a version of Vista that is MUCH slimmer, or continue to provide XP….which is in fact what they are going to do, until 2010 I hear.

I like XP, still use it regularly, and hope to continue for a while.  I’m not a Vista hater at all really.  I’m typing this up on a Vista machine, and the wife is using a copy of Vista at home.  I think it’s a good OS, but I think in some situations XP just makes more sense.  I would NEVER install Vista on my little 1.2Ghz Cloudbook.  It just wouldn’t be worth it.  Too big of a footprint for that little device.  Microsoft needs to do a “Vista Core” version…heh, just like Windows Server 2008.  Maybe not completely lacking a GUI, but obviously they know how to slim down an OS and make it run only the essentials.

Technorati Tags: Black Hole, cloudbook, NAP, Network Access Protection, Server Core, Service Pack 3, SP2, Vista, Windows, windows xp, XP SP3

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I listened to my first “Leo Laport - The Tech Guy” show live today.  For real too, over the air on AM 1310 in Detroit.  Talk about mixing old school with new school.  I also was in the IRC chat room, and watching the Stickam feed.  Quite an interesting experience.

I’ve been listening to his show for quite a while now (little over a year), but always after the fact as a podcast.  So I never really got a chance to participate in the live show or see the live feed as it’s happening.  He even had Stickam setup so that if you have an account and a camera, it would show a live feed of some of the listeners (viewers?) as well in smaller video screens to the side.  How cool is that!

It’s interesting to think back and realize that things like this just weren’t even possible a decade ago (even 5 years ago in some cases).  This kind of two-way interactiveness with shows or broadcast content was unheard of.  The Internet and advances in technology are opening up more doors for us to be more connected and exchange ideas and content much easier now.

I actually felt like part of the broadcast.  I even had a few lines of IRC chat catch Leo’s eye and he remarked about them on air.  It was a cool feeling.  I’d like to jump in on more of them and see if I can start to become a little more recognized, but I guess my schedule and family life will probably decide for me if I have time to do that.  It was a lot of fun.  Thanks go to Leo and the Twit network of people for keeping technology fun and interesting.

Technorati Tags: 1310 am, Leo Laporte, stickam, tech guy labs, the tech guy, twit

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I’m sure this isn’t a completely new concept (maybe it is and I’m coining terms here…cool!) I know there’s companies out there already look at this as being the future. But, I don’t think it really has caught on a lot out there from what I can see. I’ve really never heard about this in any of the tech news feeds, blogs, forums, or podcasts I listen to on a weekly basis.

So, let’s look at how things work now. Typically, if you want a piece of software for your computer, what do you do? You go out to a store (either online or BNM) and you throw down cash or a credit card, and then you get either a box with some media or a download, CD/license key, and the manuals. Now you’re off to install the software on your trusty PC (or Mac, ugh!) at home.

That’s fine for software that costs, eh…let’s say $50 or less. But most folks will baulk at having to spend more than that for a piece of software. Applications like Photoshop, or Microsoft Office, or AutoDesk Maya end up making your PC’s total cost of ownership (TCO) much higher, and in some cases such as people that are freelance designers, the software cost can easily outweigh the cost of their computer.

Sometimes you don’t really even need to use the software for all that long. If you happened to be a contracter or a freelance content creator, you may only need certain software packages for a few months at a time. With the cost of having to buy it and the also purchase the upgrades as well, a few months of use can be very expensive for someone that only needs an application for a short time.

How about renting software? Short term rentals, or timed keys that expire after a certain date. Even better, what if you didn’t have to actually install the software?

There’s a business model out there waiting to explode…the ability to call up Microsoft or Adobe and ask them if you can rent a copy of Office or Photoshop for 2 months, and then be done with it. Maybe you need it indefinitely. If you signed up for a subscription to an applicaton package, you could always be assurred that you are going to have the latest version because your subscription entitles you to it.

What about delivery? Well, there are companies out there already that have software virtualization and streaming solutions which would allow you to run your rented/subscribed application locally on your PC without actually installing it, and you can get the latest version every time you run it. Symantec is one such company that is already doing this for the coprorate environment with their product Altirs SVS Pro. It wouldn’t take much to transition the corporate use of this kind of technology over to a public use with a subscription model and public delivery mechanism.

We’re already seeing the landscape of things change a bit with the concept of “cloud computing” (hey, wouldya look at that, I’m writing this on a Cloudbook PC). People are tired of the old software model and way of doing things. There are a lot of people that won’t spend $500 for an office suite with features that most people don’t even use. But if you could subscribe to that same office suite for say, $10/month, and you get the latest version every time you run it…that might be more attractive to some. Plus, it creates a constant revenue stream for the software provider.

It’s only a matter of time before this shows up on the landscape more. The music industry is already going through these kinds of changes (with growing pains included), the film industry will be next…and then software. Change is good, it’s what keeps us moving ahead.

Technorati Tags: Altiris SVS Pro, cloud computing, software rentals, software subscription, timed licensing

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I admit it…I’m a complete night-owl. I regularly stay up beyond 1am (sometimes up to 3 or 4am). Seems that since I’ve gotten married and have kids, I have a LOT less time to myself to do things I want to do…so I think this is my way of still having time to play with technology on my own time.

I got to thinking about this the other day, and probably convinced myself even more that sleep is overrated. Sure I hear about all the studies that say you should get 8 hours of sleep a night or else you’ll have horribly bad health…but I can’t stop thinking about what that means over a lifetime.

Ya get 24 hours each day. If you follow the rules, your sleeping for 8 of those. Then if you work, you’re typically there at least 8-9 more of those. Factor in driving time, time to get ready in the morning, time for meals, time spent on kids changing diapers, brushing teeth, reading books, playing, etc..etc. There’s very little time left over. The one that bugs me the most is the 8 hours of sleep. 1/3rd of the day!

Factor that into a lifetime. If you live 99 years…that means 33 of those are spent sleeping! So really, you’re only really living 66 total years of that. Something really bugs me about the fact that 33 years would be spent essentially doing nothing but laying unconscious.

So, that’s probably why I try to squeeze as time out of a day awake doing things. My sleep schedule isn’t for everyone, I admit that. I’m conditioned to do it now. I can sleep later in life…when I’m older and on a beach in Hawaii somewhere. But in my younger years in this high-tech, fast moving world, with lots of stuff happening in life with the job, family, home, etc… I prefer to stay awake.

Technorati Tags: 24 hours, awake, night owl, sleep

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W00t! Another upgrade of Wordpress seems to have gone well. Can you tell I have very little faith in this process. It’s not just Wordpress, pretty much any of these PHP websites worry me. Ok, now that I haven’t posted in a few weeks? Months? I guess I’ll try to use this update in WP to open the gates again. Stay tuned…

Technorati Tags: wordpress, wordpress 2.5

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