Month: October 2009

7

Microsoft has taken a lot of flack for it’s Vista operating system, due to it’s many issues.  While I didn’t have many, the ones I did have forced me to upgrade to Windows 7.

This is my non-technical review based on my jeers and cheers.

Since I am a staff member at Indiana University, I have access to vast amounts of software for free or very cheap.  This afforded me the opportunity to upgrade for $20.  That’s right.

I’ll start with the things I like about Windows 7…

First of all, my Nikon Coolpix 7600 and it’s accompanying software would not work with Vista, period.  Vista’s own picture transfer wizard would not even work.  I believe it was something to do with the horrible USB support Vista had.  With 7, my 4 year old camera, and it’s software work better than ever!  I can’t wait to see how my bluetooth dongle works!

Second, Vista loved RAM.  It loved it so much, that no matter how much you had it seemed like it wasn’t enough.  This isn’t the case with 7 – it’s more like the opposite.  Windows 7 actually uses half as much RAM at idle on my machine than Vista did.  Freeing up that memory makes the machine much more responsive, programs load instantly.

Third, UAC.  User Access Control, introduced with Vista was a major pain in the a**.  I disabled it, but by doing that I also disabled notification of any problems elsewhere that could have happened.  With 7, you can do the same with a slider without the potential repercussions.  Set it to where you want it right from the task bar.

Fourth, Media Center.  I started using media center with Vista’s version, and I thought it couldn’t get any better.  I was wrong.  7’s media center works better and is more reliable.  It also has CBS TV streaming built right in.  So now you can watch ANYTHING on TV if you have media center and Hulu Desktop.  Add Boxee to the mix and you have the ultimate home entertainment machine.  I also have My Movies3 and Heatwave integrated into WMC, I love it!

Now onto the not so nice things…

There are many compatibility issues with programs and 7.  While they will work, you may have to re-install.  While this isn’t a huge issue, it’s still bothersome.  I can happily report that I’ve only had one casualty of the upgrade, Quickbooks 2008.  I have to restart my computer any time I want to use it.  Intuit knows about this issue and is “working on a solution.”  I hope it is resolved soon, this program wasn’t cheap, even though it’s free now.

I haven’t been a fan of the “new” start menu since it was introduced with Windows XP.  Luckily Microsoft has always provided us with an alternative, the “classic” start menu, which has it’s origins with Windows 95.  It has gone the way of the 8-track.  While there are some registry hacks to get the old menu back, and even a guide on lifehacker, I’m adapting to this change and I’m starting to get on board with it.  Many of us “old timers” don’t like change.

Those are my only complaints thus far.  Which isn’t that bad.  I believe 7 is what Vista was meant to be.

Amelia

Tuesday, October 13th 2009 at 8:30am.  An angel was sent to us via mommy’s tummy.  Her name:  Amelia Josephine!

After Rachel’s last OB appointment, it was decided that she was rather large and it would be best for her to come here via C-section.  Weighing 9 pounds, 9.8 ounces, she was rather large.  It seems that isn’t a bad thing as I haven’t heard anything otherwise from either the OB or her pediatrician, Dr. Laughlin.

There were minimal issues with her birth, she had some extra fluids in her lungs due to not being “squeezed” out of the birth canal.  Rachel was sutured, but a slight mishap occured with them and it created a small hole where one spot did not fuse together.  I have been treating it with Neosporin and it is healing greatly.

We spent 4 days in the hospital to ensure Rachel properly healed before venturing forth and becoming an active mom.  Then the real fun began.  The safety and security of the hospital created a fear of being on our own with this little one.

Since then we have been adjusting to fill her every need.  It’s been tiring, yet satisfying at the same time.  I wasn’t as involved in this crucial stage of my first daughter’s life, so I’ve learned a lot.

Now we spend most of our day eating, sleeping or changing diapers.

Big sister Taylor just loves her new sister to death.  She bought her a Minnie Mouse, which Amelia adores.  Minnie sits on her changing table and Amelia stares at Minnie as if she’s in deep thought about what she is exactly.

The kitties are still getting adjusted to the change.  They have both noticed the lack of attention they are receiving, and sometimes force their way into receiving some by jumping on us while we’re sitting.  I’d like to think they love her, but I’ll let time be the judge on that one.

My time thus far  has been taken up significantly by her care and needs.  Mommy does need a break!  Today I started back at work full-time.  I hope Rachel is doing fine today, I really do.

Crash and Freeze?

Over the past couple of weekends I’ve been working hard at getting ROX season one to the production phase.  I’ve authored all the DVD menus and have done most of the design of the case inserts.  I had all the episodes ready.  It was just a matter of rendering all of the discs and making sure I had all of the extras we wanted before it would be finished.

All of that work took an extreme turn for the worse the other day.  I had been having troubles rendering video.  I thought it was a Sony Vegas or Quick Timeissue, so I removed and reinstalled.  I then went on to think it was a codec issue, so I removed every media codec I had (quite a few), still didn’t fix it.  I had given up for the night out of pure frustration as to why my 2 month old computer wasn’t working properly.

The next day I woke to something I’ve never seen before.  A black screen with a message:  Cannot read disk on SATA 0 and Cannot read disc on SATA 3.  WTF!

I restarted the machine to hear a distinct “clicking” noise.  One of the hard drives was toast, so I removed the secondary one (the one with all the important data on it) and the computer would then boot into safe mode.  Apparently, my virus software which I get from Indiana University somehow became corrupt and became “Incompatible with my version of windows.”  So I wiped it and am still installing my programs.

My 1.5tb drive which has all of my personal, business and ROX data was clicking.  What do I do?  I could not initialize the disk.  My first thought was disk recovery, so I called the only computer service place I trust and they referred me to Drive Savers.  They gave me a code that cuts 10% off the price and gives you a no data – no cost guarantee.  I called them up and the estimate was quite shocking, $700 to $2700.  Anybody want a large Seagate drive on the cheap?

Is the data worth that?  It contains 3 years of blood, sweat and tears on this project.  I conferred with my partner in crime, Editor B.  He said he would help, which was a relief.  My homeowners insurance policy will cover anything over $1000.  After much thought and searching my other hard drives for data, I’ve decided to try something a little ‘home brewed’ to alleviate my situation.  Freezing the drive.

Not like this picture though.  The moisture from the ice will ruin it.  I scoured the interwebs looking for “freezer trick hard drive” and came across many posts about how this can help you retrieve the data you need.  Sometimes it works for just a few minutes and sometimes it works for a few hours.  There is no definitive amount of time, I think it’s limited to just how damaged the hard drive is.

I put my hard drive in the freezer last night about 6pm and I plan on taking out about the same time tonight.  I wrapped it with some paper towels and placed it in a vacuum bag.  This will help with any moisture issues that could result.  I plan on keeping the hard drive in the bag and placing it in a larger bag with ice.  When I connect the drive the computer, this will help keep it cooler longer.

I have about 500 gigs of data that I would like to get off of this drive.  But I have prioritized what I am retrieving.

Wish me luck.

UPDATE: This did not work in my circumstance.  However I’ve been told it does.