Liberating Technologies Community System

I think Engadget’s Windows 7 review is unhelpful

admin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:15:49 GMT

Engadget recently published a review of Windows 7 RTM. I think it’s flawed, because the reviewers seem to have encountered problems with Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer 8, yet the review did not disclose any reason why, or any related effort to determine why two components central to the new operating system displayed errors.

The only reason I am writing this very brief post is to perhaps help people upgrading to Windows 7 avoid some of the potential issues, it seems Engadget may have encountered.

I’ve tested Windows 7 extensively and have installed it on a variety of machines and in different ways, including:

Clean installs of 32 and 64 bit versions
Custom installs parallel to an existing installation over Windows Vista 32 and 64 bit
Installs over the top of Windows 7 RC (build 7100) to RTM 32 and 64 bit

It seems to me and based upon my own tests that the only way that Engadget would have encountered errors on their review system would be as a result of one, or more of the following:

They performed an install over the top of Windows 7 RC and or they failed to first remove Adobe FLASH player, Apple iTunes and or Apple QuickTime and Toshiba’s Bluetooth Stack first.

One may perform an install of Windows 7 RTM over the top of Windows 7 RC by following this method:

1. Download the ISO as you did previously and burn the ISO to a DVD.

2. Copy the whole image to a storage location you wish to run the upgrade from (a directory on any partition on the machine running the pre-rerelease build).

3. Browse to the sources directory.

4. Open the file cversion.ini in a text editor like Notepad.

5. Modify the MinClient build number to a value lower than the down-level build. For example, change 7233 to 7000.

6. Save the file in place with the same name.

7. Run setup like you would normally from this modified copy of the image and the version check will be bypassed.

Most users can avoid the pitfalls Engadget seems to have encountered by:

Performing a clean install, or in the case of an in-place upgrade by first removing:
Any and all security software, except where one is running Microsoft Security Essentials BETA on Windows 7 RC
Adobe FLASH (uninstaller here) restart the computer once FLASH is removed and before upgrading
Uninstall Apple iTunes and or Apple QuickTime before upgrading. (no time for the detail as to why, just re-install it after the upgrade is completed)
If it is a notebook computer being upgraded and it has the Toshiba Bluetooth stack installed, uninstall it and install the most recent version AFTER the upgrade is complete. (Windows 7 RTM compatible version is here) (A great many non-Toshiba notebooks ship with the company’s Bluetooth stack).

That’s it. If you want a smooth Windows 7 RTM upgrade, try the above. These are the only issues I have noted across my test builds. I have recorded that having any of the featured software installed on a computer being upgraded will produce the same results Engadget observed. I think it is weak that they did not seem to work to discover why and worse that they singularly attributed the issues to either Internet Explorer 8 or Windows Explorer. It’s sloppy of them in my opinion and the time and effort people will invest in upgrading deserves more from such a well-known and respected site.

Build The Perfect Windows Vista PC, Part 3: Build and Configuration

admin — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:53:00 GMT

I began the below third part of our “Build The Perfect Windows Vista PC” series some time ago. I never finished it, because I was diagnosed with a late stage (4) cancer and given a very short time to sort out my affairs and ensure my family, companies and wonderful staff were taken care of.

In the meantime, as I promised, I built a back-end for Activewin, free of charge, and shared with them hundreds of thousands of dollars (of my own money, tax free).

I’m not sure where it all went, but it does not appear it went to what I had intended (the site).

Regardless, after years of treatment of every type one may imagine, I am still alive. Soon after being diagnosed I learned really quickly, that if I were to remain alive, it was up to me and me alone. I began a crash course in micro-biology and devised a treatment plan of my own. After my initial chemotherapy failed (three months of wasted time and money), I received the molecular study I had demanded from day one. It reflected that the chemo prescribed was useless, and offered two that would be affective. In the meantime, I began intense radiation therapy, and with my own money, built Activewin.com a new server, as their old one died (BTW, I built that one for them with my own cash five years ago).

After 8 different chemos, four surgeries, three rounds of radiation and specialized gene, DNA and vaccine therapies, I’ve defeated my cancer. Obliterated it. Not even scar tissue can be seen under the most intense MRI available. In coming weeks I intend to publish how this was done and suggest what other cancer victims might do. I hope it helps.

While being treated, I worked nearly every day, kept my businesses up and supplied largely ungrateful adult kids and Activewin members with buckets of unearned income. Most fathers in our modern world will recognize my station.

Well… guys… MEN like myself are damn far and few between. We worked and fought ourselves to death (literally), and there are precious few of us left and those that remain are tired. Sick and tired of the Communist bastards that have infected our world.

I won’t finish the below part three (3) of my article. It’s outdated, at best and irrelevant to the people that started slurping on Steve Jobs’ member. Yeah, I said it, which has duck to do with whether a diseased man seeks love in the hairy backside of another man. I’m speaking to limp wristed weasels that haven’t a clue about loyalty – and to them I say: “On my worst day I could drop you with a cue-tip.”

We now live in the world we created, or allowed to be created, and really old salts like myself will be long dead before you folks experience what you have done – destroyed the only engine for good this rock has ever known (The United States of America). The USA has become a bastion of pole-smoking wonks that haven’t a clue about what tough is, or what adversity means. The country is filled with “eat the rich” maggots that aren’t worth the dirt it would take to cover their stench.

For the toads at Activewin that thought I was wrong about things, I can only say that you’re as idiotic as you are technically naïve. I’ve seen a lot of guys like that over the last several years – and they were all holding hands….

I’ll be back in coming weeks and writing about how the government is so far up your backsides that you ought to be tasting the left’s love by now – the consummate Communists at large. As old and sick as I am, I could give two flips about what the Marxist loving wonks have to say about anything. They hate the country so many of us fought for and have loved our entire lives.

Good luck.

//In Here//

In part 1 and 2 of this arc we introduced the processes we apply when designing the perfect Windows Vista PC. In part 1 we conducted discovery where the goal was to build requirements around stated and implied user needs with a focus on not just what the user does, but how they do it. In part 2 we used the information gathered in our discovery process and conducted our needs analysis to drive the design process and derive compatible parts that remain consistent with design goals.

In part 3 of this arc we're going to share the build and what we did to configure the computer. Before we get into the specifics of the build let's review design considerations and the requirements analysis driving this perfect PC and how they translate into final design goals. When reviewed against the design process it is clear that a lot of thought and planning is necessary and equally, additional requirements addressing usability, performance, continuity and security have to be added if our PC is going to be perfect in the eyes of our sample, or any user. Specifically addressing stated and implied requirements is enough to build a computer that performs well, but the effort often falls far short of the complete and truly satisfying experience we're trying to deliver.

We have to go beyond performance - we have to make the machine as smooth as glass where it matters most - where the computer transitions between the many states and roles it will occupy as it is used. To do that and deliver a truly Perfect PC, we have to build for these transitions. Perhaps a good example can be found among great limousine drivers who seem to get their passengers to the most difficult locations without those they are carrying even noticing the ride - much less the pot-holes and twists and turns along the way. A truly Perfect PC is much like that - tremendous relative power that always seems to be delivered appropriately.

Engineering Performance Goals and User Requirements

Build a PC for under $2,000.00 (USD) that has a base Windows Experience Index (WEI) score of 5.9. No single WEI category can be below 5.9 (currently the highest WEI rating)

Microsoft explains the Windows Experience Index as follows:

The Windows Experience Index measures the capability of your computer's hardware and software configuration and expresses this measurement as a number called a base score. A higher base score generally means that your computer will perform better and faster than a computer with a lower base score, especially when performing more advanced and resource-intensive tasks.

Each hardware component receives an individual subscore. Your computer's base score is determined by the lowest subscore. For example, if the lowest subscore of an individual hardware component is 2.6, then the base score is 2.6. The base score is not an average of the combined subscores.

You can use the base score to confidently buy programs and other software that are matched to your computer's base score. For example, if your computer has a base score of 3.3, then you can confidently purchase any software designed for this version of Windows that requires a computer with a base score of 3 or lower.

The base scores currently range from 1 to 5.9. The Windows Experience Index is designed to accommodate advances in computer technology. As hardware speed and performance improves, higher base scores will be introduced. However, the standards for each level of the index stay the same. For example, a computer scored as a 2.8 will remain a 2.8 unless you decide to upgrade the computer's hardware.

The PC must be fully capable of supporting high definition movie (Blu-ray Disc) play-back at a resolution of 1920 x 1080P in 32 bit color.
Commercial Blu-ray Disc playback must be at least as easy to initiate and use as currently available stand-alone BD players.
The PC must be capable of supporting the creation of HD AVCHD movies at 1920 x 1080P while being used for personal productivity and service as a file, print and media services host.
The PC must support DirectX 10 gaming at a minimum of 1920 x 1080 while sustaining playable frame rates.

Base Usability and Design Considerations

The PC must be configured to enter and wake from hybrid-sleep in <5 seconds and operate electrically as an instant-on and off appliance.

Microsoft describes hybrid-sleep in Windows Vista as follows:

This version of Windows provides a power-saving state called sleep. Like hibernation, sleep saves all of your work to your hard disk, including information about the programs you were using, such as window location and size. After saving your work, sleep puts your computer in a power-saving state.

The advantages of putting your computer to sleep compared to shutting it down are many and include:

You can leave programs open, and your work is automatically saved.
After your computer wakes, you can typically resume working within seconds.
Because you leave your programs open, you can quickly resume working where you left off.

Quick Tip! If sleep malfunctions on a Windows Vista computer after running a disc cleanup, do the following:

To resolve this problem in Windows Vista, run the powercfg -h on command at a command prompt to enable the hibernate feature and the hybrid sleep feature. To run this command, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click All Programs, and then click Accessories.

2. Right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.

3. Type powercfg -h on, and then press ENTER.

Additional Usability and Power Requirements

The PC must be as green as possible and operate under a "Balanced Power" scheme and automatically enter into a low power state on its own when idle, or not in use.
The PC must be relatively quiet when under peak load and not produce any high-pitched or variable sounds; its sound levels must remain consistent regardless of how it is being used. The PC may produce low frequency sounds; in aggregate sounds may not operate at different frequencies. All cooling frequencies emitted must be the same, or whole number multiples of base frequencies. That is, no one fan may produce one sound while another fan generates another.

Maintenance Requirements Impacting the User Experience

The PC must maintain itself and no user actions or input may be introduced in support of usability, security, or continuity (backup and recovery).
All PC usability maintenance, security and continuity operations must be automated and largely transparent.

Safety and Security Requirements

Historical default and third party security mechanisms, software and services are not enough protection against modern blended threats - many of which may not be known. While a state-full software firewall, hardware firewall, anti-virus, anti-mal-ware, anti-spy-ware, User Account Control (UAC) and other well known security measures will be maintained and automated, additional layers of security are required. Below are presented additional security requirements for this perfect PC.

The PC must support Microsoft's implementation of Address space layout randomization - Address Space Layout Randomizer (ASLR)
The PC's hardware must be designed to work with ASLR by enabling hardware support for No Execute (NX) technologies.
The PC must support support Kernel Patch Protection (Patch-Guard in Windows Vista x64)
The PC must have native support for the Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) and security software must use it.
The PC must support File System Filters and its anti-virus and security software must make use of them. (Read: Windows Live OneCare)

A Perfect PC is a safe and secure computer where security is applied in well integrated layers that remain transparent to the user. Once set up a perfect PC must only inform the user of security related events when absolutely necessary - as when an application first requests access to a network, or when installing new software. All other security related functions must remain largely transparent, but accessible to the user for review, study and auditing.

As we can see, our perfect PC not only has to be capable of all things high definition, it must also be as appliance like as an HDTV, efficient in its use of electrical power; fully automate performance and maintenance functions and it must be more secure than any of the 32 bit x86 systems so commonly recommended by computer manufacturers and technology pundits - it has to be as perfect as humans can make any thing.

With our final requirements in hand, and our research and parts list completed, it's time to build our Perfect PC.

Thoughts on ordering component parts...

There are a lot of online distributors for computer components and without endorsing any one in particular, I do recommend that to the extent possible, enthusiasts should pick a distributor that can supply all of the parts they have selected. Ordering from one good distributor is easier and it helps enthusiasts establish something of a relationship with the company with which they are trading. While we have many commercial distributors on the business side of things, I use NewEgg, D&H and Directron for personal purchases. A good resource for people to consider when selecting a distributor or reseller is, RESELLERRATINGS I would research all purchases carefully.

nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX Review

admin — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:46:00 GMT

By Byron Hinson, Activewin.com March 26th, 2008

I have to admit that I have been a stalwart fan of ATI's cards for sometime so doing this review of an nVidia based card that I have been sent from Liberating Technologies seems a little strange. ATI had long been the best card maker for some years before nVidia hit a home run with the 8000 series GPU's and this is our first full nVidia based review on this site so we will go into full details about this 8800 GTX, how well it runs games and just what benefit it will give Windows Vista users even on moderate PC's.

So let us take a closer look at the GeForce 8800 GTX card - take note that all of our benchmarks will be done at stock speeds with the retail heatsink on the card, nothing has been changed or played around with. We are also using the latest drivers available on nVidia's site to make sure that we are as up to date as we can be in regards to getting the best out of the card on Windows Vista. For all our tests we are running on the following PC specs:

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Slipstream
Intel Quad Core Processor Q6600 G0 @ 2.4 GHz/AMD X2 6000+ Dual Core Processor
Asus P5E Motherboard/Asus M2V Socket AM2 Motherboard
8 GB DDR 2 Memory
500 GB Hard Drive
Samsung Monitor

As you can see we are comparing the graphics card running on both the new Intel Q6600 G0 processor and on AMD's 6000+ Dual Core processor to get a good comparison based on the kind of chips that many users today will have inside their computers. The two motherboards both run the PCI Express Card at 16x speed and each board has the same memory installed on it.

So where do we start? Well first the installation was a breeze on the new Intel System setup I now have running for our review machine. The card worked right away on the Intel Asus P5E motherboard with no need to change any settings at all, to make sure everything was clean - we did a full clean install of Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 integrated (thanks Microsoft!). The card was detected right away and it was a simple case of installing the nVidia drivers and we were ready to go right away.

While most reviews of graphics card will only ever cover gaming and some other applications we like to make sure that our reviews cover how good the performance is in Windows Vista, this means judging how fast windows are drawn, how smooth the experience is etc and I am pleased to say that compared to my previous ATI card everything is super smooth. The Windows Experience rating for the card is 5.9 as I would expect for a DirectX 10 based card. While I find the Windows Experience rating good for some things, I find it doesn't offer enough when judging graphics card because an ATI X2900 can score the same as the nVidia 8800 GTX yet the cards offer a massive difference in speed between them.

So how does Windows Vista feel with an nVidia card? Well my view is that nVidia offer the best Vista experience right now, in both driver terms and for ease of use. The card also is quiet which makes a world of difference when you are simply working in Windows Vista rather than playing games, where as the ATI Fans on the X2900 sometimes make you feel that an airplane is flying by your window. Movement of Windows in Vista is smoother on the nVidia card compared to the ATI one, whether this is just due to improved Vista drivers or the card itself is hard to say but for myself it is an easy thing to notice.

Comparing the nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX on both the AMD and Intel platforms was an easier case altogether, while you would expect the Intel Q6600 Quad to outdo the AMD 6000+ Dual Core - it was far more of a win for Intel that I thought it would be. The Intel system ran everything more stable than the AMD platform - this is most likely due to the motherboards but both were Asus boards using exactly the same components and the latest bios updates but things were far snappier on the Intel system than the AMD one and everything was far more stable in terms of sleep modes and gaming experience even on games that don't make use of the Quad Core Intel chip.

Although we have not shown any overclocking benchmarks on this review I'm pleased to state that the GeForce 8800 GTX overclocks pretty well, even up to "Ultra" standard if you have decent cooling inside your PC. As I say, if you are going to overclock the card, make sure you have decent cooling and space behind your PC to let the air in and out, you really don't want to fry such an expensive card just after you have got it!

Drivers for the nVidia card are not quite as advanced as the ATI ones are right now for Windows Vista- but the game profiles that nVidia have for players to play around with are far better than anything ATI has to offer, they also don't ship with as much rubbish as the ATI ones have done lately. Although I have to say I'd like to see more regular releases from nVidia on their website.

Benchmarks

Gears of War DX9 (1680x1050 Full Detail Highest Settings)

ATI X2900 XT 512MB	43
GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB	72

Gears of War DX10 (1680x1050 Full Detail Highest Settings) Average Frame Rate

ATI X2900 XT 512MB	25
GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB	57

Gears of War on the PC is an excellent conversion of the Xbox 360 classic, not only does is manage to play better on the PC thanks to the mouse and keyboard combination, it is one of the few conversions in which a console to PC version looks fantastic even a year after the original release. Thanks to the Unreal Engine 3 - the detail and quality on show in Gears of War is superb. As you can see once again the benefit of playing the game on DirectX 9 is almost 20 more frames per second is some cases, although thanks to the GeForce 8800 GTX the game is once again fully playable even in DirectX 10 mode with 4xAA.

Everquest 2 (Extreme Detail 1680x1050) Average Frame Rate

ATI X2900 XT 512MB	35
GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB	59

E verquest 2 isn't the sort of game that tends to make most benchmarks, but the reason I've done this is that a few years ago no PC could run the game in Extreme detail, now with the GeForce 8800 GTX it runs perfectly and despite being 3 or 4 years old, it looks great for a multiplayer title. As you can see - once again the GeForce 8800 GTX outdoes the ATI card by a large margin with almost doubling the framerate.

3D Mark 2006

ATI X2900 XT 512MB	10075
GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB	12510

As you can see from the results above the GeForce card outdoes the ATI easily in 3DMark - and that's despite both cards being DirectX 10 based. The extra 2000 points is quite a jump that I wasn't fully expecting after using ATI cards for so long. The performance increase wasn't just noticeable on the extra points, but just viewing the tests running showed how much better the nVidia card was compared to the opposition.

Crysis (High Detail 1680x1050) Average Frame Rate - DirectX 10

ATI X2900 XT 512MB	16
GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB	31

Crysis is one of those games that people are updating their hardware for just so they can show it off. My view here is that no one should ever update their PC just to play one title; especially one that while great to look at isn't actually a game most people will keep on playing. As you can see here the GeForce 8800 GTX outdoes the ATI card by almost doubling the framerate in DirectX 10 mode. The GTX card makes the game playable at high setting in DirectX 10 - although I have to say there is little difference between DirectX 9 and 10 - and the framerate increase when playing on the DirectX 9 version is far better for playing the game on. Remember that there are hacks on the internet that also allow you to run the DirectX 9 version with the same full detail that the DirectX 10 version is supposed to have, yet runs better, go figure.

Unreal Tournament 3 (1680x1050)

ATI X2900 XT 512MB	72.3 FPS
GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB	96.7 FPS

Unreal Tournament 3 on the PC is an excellent title - its great online and for once the single player side isn't all that bad for a short time! Graphically it is one of the best titles on show for the PC at the moment and the engine is as smooth as butter on both ATI and nVidia cards. The GeForce 8800 GTX one again outdoes the ATI card by over 20 frames per second though. The Unreal Engine is also one of the few that makes use of the Intel Quad core we are using for our review.

World in Conflict (Very High - DirectX 10 - 1680x1050)

	Minimum (FPS)	Maximum (FPS)	Average (FPS)
ATI X2900 XT 512MB	7	31	12
GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB	16	56	31

World in Conflict is a very graphic intensive game and although the performance on the GeForce 8800 GTX is much better in DirectX 10 than the ATI card, the framerate isn't always perfect. 31 Frames Per Second for a strategy game is not too bad though and it is certainly very playable and not so noticeable when playing the campaign.

Final Comments:

To say I am impressed by the nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX would be an understatement. There are lots of things going for it not just gaming performance. Performance in Windows Vista has been excellent with no crashes for me since I setup a clean install of Windows Vista and Service Pack 1, the drivers are working very well with only the basic of problems (v-sync not working) and power consumption is far lower than that of the ATI card in my review.

Gaming performance has been excellent across the range of titles I have mentioned in my review as well as others that haven't made it in here such as Stalker and Neverwinter Nights 2. To be able to play games at high resolutions without having to worry that you will need to reduce quality settings is great news for gamers and right now the GeForce 8800 GTX is the card to get if you are into gaming on the PC.

Build the Perfect Windows Vista PC, Part 2: Design Considerations and Parts...Parts...Parts

admin — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:34:00 GMT

In part 1 of this arc I presented a view of the discovery and requirements analysis process that goes into building a perfect PC - where learning how a PC was going to be used and by whom was the goal. That process drives context and provides not just information, but a clearer understanding of what would make a PC perfect for the user it is being built to serve. Think alignment - just as when one develops software and aligns business processes with how they are supported within enterprise processes in an application; when they are properly aligned an application is perfect. The same is true of a PC.

In part 2 we're going to take all we have learned during the discovery phase and bounce it off of the entire Windows ecosystem - the nearly endless selection of hardware and software available to every PC user and potentially, every builder. In this next step, we're going to design the perfect PC. We're going to continue the conversation with ourselves and our example customer and share the processes and thought we apply to make the perfect PC.

The first and obvious question many may have is what makes a PC perfect in the first place? At first blush that seems to be a) impossible and b) intractable - after all, what makes a PC perfect for one person could as easily make it a dreadful PC for the next. It's a great question to ask, and a PC built from within the Windows ecosystem means that there is no one prefect PC at all, but at the same time there are potentially billions of perfect PCs - one for each individual living on the planet. Similarly, many imperfect PC's may be made perfect with the addition of a few parts and new software. So in the case of the PC, building something that is perfect in the proper human context is as much about available selections and options as it is choice. Among competitors to the PC there are choices, but they are often constrained by the limited availability of options to select from and designs are constrained as a result. Regardless, perfect in the context of a PC still requires some definition. We define the PC's we build as perfect, when and because they are specifically built for the individuals that are going to use them and they are delivered and set up with all the software and settings that make them personal. A perfect PC addresses all design considerations while mitigating, or obviating compromises that may be necessary and inherent to user driven designs. So things like budget and pricing, while they are factors, are not treated in isolation, but are regarded and treated organically.

Fundamental Perfect PC Design Principles - there are only two:

Work from the software out - don't design a PC with x, y, or z specs inherent to a category, or a class of systems. Do the reverse and let your discovery determine what software will be needed and how it will be used and then spec the system to run that software as smoothly and consistently as glass. Remember, you're building the PC for yourself, or a customer you regard first and always as a colleague.

Design around the individual person and provide enough headroom to grow - that empty slot or bay in your design isn't a limitation or a missing feature, it's your friend and it represents actualized potential a year or two from the day the PC is delivered. Most importantly, view software running on a personal computer as a form of expression and an extension of the person using the computer. Go back to your discovery and this time, forget the PC. Look at the person and how and where they work. Is the room lighted and open, or dark? Is the room cold, hot, or something in between? How is the person dressed - warmly in a cool room, or lightly in a warm room? Are there fans in the room despite air-conditioning? Is the room nearly silent; what is the ambient noise like? Is there any media being played in the room - television, radio, or music of some kind? Does the user work alone in an office at home, or is their work area open and shared with other people and activities. Does the person appear to be fastidious - is everything around them dressed, squared off and tied down, or are they more relaxed and tolerant of some disorganization? These are the very human elements that must influence any design and they are more than observable and measurable characteristics. Collectively they can provide the look and feel elements that will emerge as objectives - that case you picked out looks cool, but will it look cool where it is going to be used?

Baseline Requirements:

Start at the top and most challenging requirements for you. Don't forget, you're part of every perfect PC. In part one of this arc we learned that our example customer wanted both a perfect 5.9 Windows Experience Index (WEI) rating as well as the ability to play Blu-ray movies at 1080P and achieve these goals as part of an engineering test for under $2,000.00 USD. One has to be candid with oneself, and assess what their own initial understanding of supporting protected high definition playback on a PC is - some self-study, education and experimentation may be required. Don't let that stop you and don't let your own limitations drive your designs - leverage the channel and the ecosystem around Windows Vista. Do be candid and as an example, clearly explain that Blu-ray is a newer and emerging capability on the PC and that while possible, it may not be entirely consistent, or it may require later modification and updates in order to support as yet to be released titles and features. Be candid about every aspect that you do not understand fully, or do not perform yourself, but do research and study the area and make the customer part of the process. They will respect you enormously for it and it will insulate you from any challenges they may face later on. As you resolve challenges, continue to make them a part of the process and always remember, what you are building is a personal PC - not an appliance.

Derived Requirements so far:

     An HDCP compliant protected video and audio path (the entire path)
     An HDCP compliant display (BD on a PC does have more strict compliance rules)
     At least DVI-D video out - if not HDMI out
     HD Audio
     A Blu-ray ROM Player
     CyberLink's Power DVD Ultra with HD patch (WinDVD 8 WILL NOT play Blu-ray movies)
     CyberLink HD/BD Advisor BETA test tool
     Windows Vista Home Premium, or Ultimate, or a modified Windows XP SP2

Consider the most resource intensive applications to be used - and remember, a massive rocket motor bolted to a brick does not controlled flight make. WEI of 5.9 and Blu-ray! Check! At first thought one would think that if one were to build around that requirement alone, that the PC would be pretty much capable of anything else... well... maybe, but maybe not. Again looking at the results of our example discovery we know that the user does a lot of video editing - but what kind? We also know that the user likes to experiment with graphically intense games and wants to push them to 1920 x 1080P at a minimum.

At this point we can see some holes in our discovery and we have to go back to the customer and find out a bit more about what kind of video editing needs to be supported. In discovery we determined that demonstration movies were made and many were in high definition, but what formats specifically would need to be required. One has to be prepared to ask more questions and do more research. In our example we're going to continue by pretending that we went back to the customer and ask about HD formats and we learned that both HD DVD for playback on any Vista PC was needed (which does not require an HD DVD player, by the way! - more on that in part three), but also AVCHD was required. Whoa Boy...! At this point it's probably good to point out that just like there are many ways to create an AVI file, there are many ways to create files using H.264 codecs - more specifically MPEG-4 AVC (H.264). AVCHD is only one of them, albeit a popular one with camcorder manufacturers. AVCHD is also very demanding on software and therefore hardware, and despite the controversy around the format, many affordable HD camcorders and software suites like Pinnacle Systems' Studio Ultimate version 11 make use of it. Preferences for ISO's and .MP4 aside, the example customer is a Pinnacle / Avid software user and that is what will drive the build. With support for AVCHD understood, we can assume, but ask and confirm that the example customer has at least one HD camcorder used to capture HD video in AVCHD format. A quick call or email can confirm this and also reveal that things like HD DV tape might be used - so we can understand that we are not dealing with just minutes of HD video, but hours worth of it potentially. The derived design continues below: *if you're interested in the more open and preferred H.264 decoder, look no further than CoreAVC (.MP4)*

Peak Requirements - HD gaming and HD Video:

     A multi-core CPU (Quad Core recommended)
     Large and fast hard disc drive (750 GB plus with a 32 MB cache buffer, NCQ, 3gs SATAII)
     Fast RAM and at least 2 GB of it (4 GB Preferred)
     Windows Vista Compliant

By looking at what software the customer uses and how they use it is the best way to design a PC that they will long regard as perfect.

A cursory review of the requirements we have derived so far are suggesting quite a PC. If budget were no object it would not be too hard to simply find the highest end parts that are compatible with one another and slap it together, but that's not the case; we're trying to satisfy the requirements and meet needs on a budget - and against the requirements emerging, it's going to be a tight one.

Given the need to support HD video editing and Blu-ray playback and still provide a smooth experience - where the PC can be used for personal productivity as it is being used to render HD video, there really are only two paths one can go down in terms of suitable processors; dual Core 2 CPU's in SMP or one Core 2 Quad. Alongside the budget and gaming requirements (we still have to get a great video card), which we have not yet addressed, the choice narrows to a single Core 2 Quad. Marrying that up with our analysis so far, and what we learned in discovery, we have to pick one and a motherboard that we can safely clock well above their rated spec and run them reliably opposite very high load. If one does not have a lot of experience building PC's a good bit of reading is going to be required. Similarly, one can find a small local enthusiast builder and pay them a visit. Very often high-end gamers will be found there and some good information can be had - but be careful... a lot of bad information and FUD can be circulated, too.

With what we have learned so far and again considering our budget with how far we have yet to go, there is only one processor in the market as of this writing that has the power, price point and over-clocking head room to meet all of our requirements and that is the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 stepping version with 8 MB of L2 Cache. Again, balancing performance and budget for the entire system, there is only one chipset available that meets the simultaneous demands for support of HD video editing, HD BD media playback and higher end gaming and that is the Intel X38 chipset. Yes, there is the X48, but we still have some ways to go and we'd be running out of dollars before we finished. Similarly, the X38 is a solid OC choice, works very well with the Q6600 and it supports HD/BD media as well as the BD-ROM burners within our spec and budget. Finally, as a combination, the X38 and Q6600 have so much head room for over-clocking that hitting our design goal and a WEI of 5.9 across the board is not only possible, it is all but assured. The Q6600 as will be shared in part 3, can be reliably clocked to 4 GHz (up from 2.4 GHz) per core on air alone. We're going to clock at a much safer and cooler (20 - 25C at idle and normal load) 3.46GHz.

Among the highest rated X38 based boards comes from ASUSTek and a great board is found in the P5E. The P5E costs less than some of the other ASUS X38 boards, but still retains most of the features and all of the potential of more costly products in the line. Again referring to our discovery, our example customer clearly does not want any form of wireless; so why provide for it. Similarly, and more importantly perhaps is not so much what the ASUS P5E has, but what it does not have... The P5E is devoid of older ports and technologies. There is no parallel port, no serial ports, no MIDI port, and only one IDE port. This is important, because the operating system and related resources will never have to be loaded for these ports and they are likely never to be required by our example user. Fewer resources, drivers and processes loaded for fewer ports means more resources for everything our build will need and less headache for the customer. The P5E also has support for all newer processors and RAM, with support for 45nm processors and DDR3 up to 1333. It's a solid choice with a lot of room for expansion.

Before we go any further, I have to provide the obligatory disclaimer about over-clocking and any advice or information about it. First, it is all provided "as is" and no warranty or guarantee of any kind is offered. If you don't know a lot about over-clocking a computer, even one designed for enthusiasts and gamers don't try it. If you're not an enthusiast and you don't build your own systems, then don't over-clock. If you're not prepared to lose the entire machine and have to start from scratch, do not over-clock. You have been warned and you and you alone are 100% responsible for your actions and the decisions you make. Not me, not my company and not any of the people that work in it.

Our design is coming along and even at stock speeds we could probably address most all of our example customer's requirements with the hardware we have selected so far - all but one; the WEI of a perfect 5.9. Without bumping performance for RAM and how fast it communicates across the BUS to the CPU, we'd probably see a WEI of 5.5, or 5.6 tops. We have to push the spec just a little and opting for DDR3 RAM would put the build way over budget. So we have to figure out a way to push the RAM (compatible RAM) without breaking the bank, or the memory itself. The best place to learn about RAM I have found is over at Corsair and their forums. Corsair, makers of some of our favorite memory products, maintains the "Ask The RAM Guy" forums. It doesn't take long in the forums to find the guys that know what they are doing and many of them will help any user all they can. Just be polite and humble and if you are new to performance computing, say so and the guys in the forum will pull out all stops to help you. To continue, 4 Gigabytes (4GB) of PC2-6400 DDR2-800 RAM can be had for as little as $84.00 USD. Not bad and Corsair's XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) kit is just what the doctor ordered. With 2 x 2GB matched modules and the P5E's four slots and capacity for 8 Gigabytes of dual-channel DDR2-800 clocked to match the CPU's FSB at 1066 MHz, one can be certain to nail the last WEI index at 5.9. Just a few notes to remember, the Corsair XMS2 4GB kit runs at 1.8v and it has fragile cooling fins - be careful when installing it and avoid lateral pressure which may separate the heat-sink from the memory modules.

Since we're already looking at 4 GB of RAM and potentially 8 GB, we're leaning toward a 64 bit version of Windows Vista Ultimate over 32 bit versions. We'll get a lot more into this in part 3 of this arc, but I wanted to share a quick look into that decision now. Go for it. In the year and two months since Vista's general release to the public, 64 bit computing has come a very long way. For the PC we're building here and many others, 64 bit is fully supported and most 32 bit applications will run under 64 bit just fine, thank you. The benefits associated with 64 bit computing go well beyond addressable memory space. 64 bit is far more secure and Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit is not only faster, it is more stable than its 32 bit little brother. Trust me... once you make the move, you will never want to go back to 32 bit computing. The drivers are all signed and stable and software may flake out, but it will never take your system with it. Finally, I have yet to find a piece of 32 bit based software that would not run on 64 bit versions of Vista. I know they are out there, I just have not seen them, or used them.

Where we are is where we're at... (I love Missouri and people from that state)

Let's see here, we've opted for Intel's Core 2 Quad Q6600, ASUS's P5E and Corsair's XMS2 4 GB PC6400 DDR2-800 Memory Kit. We know we have a solid architecture and we're leaning toward 64 bit computing, but we still have some selections to make and a good bit of budget to work with. We know we need as much video card as possible, and a Blu-ray BD-ROM player. We also know we need to include a floppy disc drive, because the customer in our example still uses one to produce bootable floppy discs for other systems. Before we start hunting for a suitable video card it's best that we take a look back at our customer and what we learned in discovery. We know we have to over-clock the CPU at least a little - so stock cooling is probably not going to work. We can however, make up the costs of the after-market cooler by selecting an OEM version of our processor. We're not going to need the stock cooler and we for darn certain aren't going to ugly up our case with any of Intel's stickers. The only label going on our case will be the operating system OEM license decal.

In our example, we visited our customer and observed how he works. While there it was noted that not just one, but two fans were turning slowly; just enough to move some air and make a pleasant whoosh sound that dampened ambient noise in the room and cut the silence, so to speak... We also learned that our example customer likes it cool - cold even, by most standards. Both the home office and corporate offices were cooler than what has been observed elsewhere. When asked, the customer offered that "white-noise" was essential and it helped drown out, or dampen other sounds.

Hmmm.... ok. So long as we keep any noise generated by the new perfect PC at a lower frequency, we're going to be good to go - if we resort to high-speed fans we're not going to make the customer happy and no matter how well the PC performs, any high pitched, or high frequency sound will kill the experience and our PC will be any but perfect. Let's set aside our hunt for a video card for the moment and take advantage of what we learned about our customer. Time to ask a few more questions...

We created a series of sounds - fan sounds to be exact; small recordings we could easily email. We named them 1, 2 and 3. Simple enough. We asked which of the three sounds was appealing (if any). In the first sample we sampled a system with Q-Fan Controls enabled and a system under different loads. In theory it's cool, but it's annoying, or can be... Our example customer thought so too and the words "I HATE NUMBER 1" were in all caps! (we hate it, too). In sample 2 we offered a low hum, which the customer called, "Meh" (it was a fan-less water-cooled rig). In sample three, the Goldie Locks sample, we offered a dead consistent low-frequency whoosh. The customer responded just as our fair haired girl did with, "that's just right..." In sample three we chose Antec's Nine Hundred Ultimate Gamer Case. The Antec Nine Hundred uses three 12cm fans and one 20cm fan that are standard and can be set to turn very slowly. The Nine Hundred is nearly entirely open with a mesh front and side panel and slotted rear panel. Its top is wide open with large pores above the 20cm fan. It's large enough for about any combination of components and wide enough for a large after-market cooler. The Nine Hundred is also an easy build and it has some nice touches that make it a real pleasure to build around - top-front mounted I/O ports and a padded shelf for things like USB Keys and memory sticks or an MP3 player. Most importantly to our customer and our design, the Nine Hundred is cool, consistently quiet in a low-frequency noise kind of way and it is an over-clocker's dream - plenty of room and buckets of cool air to play with.

The Antec Nine Hundred does not come with a power supply and candidly, we don't want it to. Very rarely do cases come with suitable power supply units and we prefer to order our own. Some mainstream systems and cases do come with good power supply units, but our build is unique and it has unique requirements. Before we get into what kind of power supply to buy, we need to pick our video card. We know that we're going to need a great one and its characteristics will influence the power supply we choose (more on that in a moment).

Video oh Video where art thou?

We know we have some tough requirements to address with video. 1080P, Blu-ray, HDCP compliance, HD video editing, HD gaming. We also know that within budget and against SLi limitations imposed by our main board selection, we're looking at either a single higher end Nvidia graphics card, or a Cross-Fire solution from AMD. Once again however, we have to let the software drive and many games are designed to perform best when mated with Nividia's line of products. Similarly, Nvidia supports HD/BD with their True HD Video software and they make proven HDCP compliant graphics cards where tools may be used to confirm compliance before money is spent and a build is finalized. Finally, Nvidia seems to have had more success in leveraging the WDDM driver model and their drivers for Vista x64 have been both more consistent in terms of release schedules and performance. Frankly, I don't know that we'd use an AMD graphics card at this point if we were given one for free and most candidly, we miss ATi (let's hope AMD pulls it out and hammers back at both Nvidia and Intel - we'd love to see it, but for now, we're voting with our game playing ~~wallets~~ feet).

Selecting the right Nvidia graphics card is not as easy at it might seem. There are a lot of choices and making the wrong one can produce very bad results. Worse, our requirements collectively rule out mid-range cards and mid-range SLi solutions, but at the same time, they demand very high performance. As with our CPU, Main Board and RAM, we're going to have to find a solution that either is, or can be clocked above spec if we're going to deliver on our promise of a perfect PC.

All too often people select components based upon performance alone. That's fine, but there is a side to the story that matters almost as much - warranty and service. Now, as we've stated, we need a video card that is going to run above spec. It makes sense to work with a manufacturer that will warrant their over-clocked cards for life. Fortunately there is just such a company, BFG Technologies. BFG makes great cards. They OC many of them out of the box, but most importantly, they stand behind the buyer and support their products with a life-time warranty. That tells me a great deal about how confident they are about their engineering. It matters and it is only part of why I give them my business. While we do use other cards from other manufacturers, we have seen BFG make good on their promise to support their cards for as long as the original owner has possession of the card. BFG is no slacker when it comes to performance either and the card we have selected is both more affordable, and very powerful. For this perfect PC we chose the BFG NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800 GTX OC^TM 768MB PCI Express® graphics card. The card comes standard with 768 MB of GDDR3 RAM, 128 stream processors and Core and Shader Clocks of 600 MHZ and 1400 MHz respectively. While not an SLi solution, BGF's 8800 GTX will still haul the mail and even in Crysis at 1920 x 1080P with all settings pegged at Very High, will still pull close to 40 FPS. Not stellar, but about as good as anyone is getting with Crysis using DX10. (Be sure to use the Crysis 1.2 patch alongside Nvidia's March 6th, 2008 BETA driver, Rev. 169.44). BGF also supports HDCP, and the other requirements we have discovered.

Power... we need more power...

Video card in hand, we have to look back at our power supply unit. The BFG 8800 GTX requires two 6-pin PCIe power connectors, so we want to get a PSU with two dedicated power plugs - one each dedicated to each of the 6-pin PCIe connectors on the card. Too few builders pay enough attention to clean power as I see it. Video cards, processors and most especially RAM and chipsets require tightly regulated and consistent power. Every component we have chosen so far is either sensitive to power or provides for it better than mainstream components. Our power supply selection will be no different and it has to be not just good, it has to be perfect. To some extent our case selection helps, the Antec Nine Hundred is a dream of a case and its PSU bay is located in the lower rear of the case. This helps both cooling and weight distribution - making the PC less top heavy. It also makes routing power cables cleaner, but a bit more work opposite an ATX form factor.

Buying the right power supply isn't easy. Available marketing is of little help and many manufacturers use a lot of tricky language that is accurate, but does not reflect real-world use. Many advertise peak power, rather than the continuous power delivered by a PSU. A good way to start is to use a power calculator that helps determine the total power one will need. eXtreme Outer Vision has a tool available that helps enthusiasts keep the guess work down. We already know that we want to use two dedicated 6-pin PCIe connectors for our card, but there is more to study and consider. AANET has a great online tool that is free and it really helps people understand what their real-world power and UPS requirements will be. I'd use it at a minimum and then do a lot of reading before making a selection - remember, take your time and really learn what is involved. After exhaustive study, tests, calculations and more than a bit of online shopping, I selected the Antec Quattro TPQ-850 ATX12V / EPS12V 850W Power Supply 100 - 240 V PSU for this perfect PC. The 850 can deliver its full rated power (24 hours a day rated at 50ºC) for up to 100,000 hours.

We don't have far to go and we can start our build... Next up, storage.

To RAID, or not to RAID... that is the question here. Let's think about that for a moment. We're about out of cash. We're using tons of RAM in relative terms. We're using a 64 bit OS, so 768 MB of video RAM won't debit from system RAM available to Windows Vista and we have to support video editing, so raw I/O is going to be important - particularly at the 3.67 MB/second that AVCHD will require. So RAID 1 mirroring is out before we begin and buying four drives to support RAID 0+1 would put the build over budget, or force compromises where we don't want them. So we're looking at a single large drive. We know we need high throughput, 3gs and performance features like Native Command Queuing (NCQ) and a large Cache Buffer (32 MB). Specs in hand it is not hard to find the drive we are looking for, Seagate's Barracuda 7200.11 ST3750330AS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s. Seagate has both a good reputation and strong support policies - Five (5) years. Not bad. The OEM price is right, too and 750 GB is a good start. We can always add more storage later, and as always, a network based backup will be a must.

Cool cooling - saving some of the best for last.

We know we have to pick a CPU cooler that is going to support possibly very high over-clock settings. We're using an OEM Intel Core 2 Quad, so we can't skimp on the cooler we use. This decision is going to be perhaps our most critical choice for this build and if we choose poorly, we're going to fail. Anyone who builds custom performance PC's has to face that reality. Choose the wrong part and you're done. Pick a piss poor cooler and you may as well buy two processors up front, because chances are you're going to bake one of them. In picking a cooler think Bimetallic (two metals) one to radiate heat quickly (aluminum) and one to conduct it quickly (copper) the thermal transfer works like a pump and pushes heat away from the source (your CPU) and into a cooler's fins where they are exposed to accelerated air. The path has to be as short as possible - from the source to the points of dissipation (now you know why Intel uses short, fat stock coolers). There is a ratio, so larger coolers also work well - provided they have enough surface area in relation to the length of travel. Zalman gets this ratio right in some coolers, but not all. For this perfect PC I chose the Zalman CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler. It's massive, has a very large quiet fan and a mirror smooth heat-sink face. It has a slug of aluminum in its base and short heat-pipes feeding a large radiator. On socket 775 boards for Intel, the 9700 is properly oriented and most rear case fans work with the cooler's own fan to draw even more air through the cooler and out of the case. In part 3 of this arc we'll examine a good bit about this cooler and how to get the most from it. For now, know up front that the 9700 can keep a Core 2 Quad clocked at 3.4 GHz per core at a very cool 21 - 27C under normal use and under 40C under peak sustained load. Beyond that, the 9700 looks really nice - see the image below:

Cooling paste... never too much!

While the Zalman does come with thermal grease in a slick paint-brush jar, I don't use it. As stated, cooling is going to be critical and the best proven combination we have found comes by way of Zalman coolers and Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (Provided it is applied properly - in part 3, I will show you how to do this).

Blu-ray Blues...No BD burner, but playback is great

Our example customer wanted Blu-ray HD movie playback capability and in support of that we selected a competent BD-ROM optical drive from Pioneer. This is the one component that was nearly entirely selected based upon price, because the BD spec is still evolving (slowly) and frankly, we expect BD drive prices to drop quickly - just as they did with CD and DVD R/RW etc... Of all the components in this build, the BD-ROM player / DVD writer combo will probably be upgraded first. Despite cost considerations, we're still excited about BD support in the build. Without question, HD movies in Blu-ray format look incredible and we're glad our example customer presented the requirement. For this build I selected the Pioneer Black 12X DVD+R 6X DVD+RW 4X DVD+R DL 12X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 5X DVD-RAM 12X DVD-ROM 24X CD-R 24X CD-RW 32X CD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA Blu-Ray DVD-ROM and 12X DVD±R DVD Burner - in OEM trim, since we would be using CyberLink's DVD Ultra for BD playback and many other free burning tools for other purposes.

Media Reader and Floppy Disc Combo... an oldie, but a goodie

One last little bit and some help from HP, our media card reader and floppy disc drive combo. Nothing really special, but certainly a welcome combo and in a funny way, a good place to end the presentation of our design consideration process... all the way back to a very old technology that seems a little out of place in an otherwise very modern build. I kind of like that and the inclusion of a floppy drive is not only useful, it is kind of cool. So as not to throw it too far back, I chose a combo drive with a baked in media reader that runs on a USB 2.0 header - the floppy is old school and uses the all too familiar ribbon cable (red toward the power folks!). A five year old HP PC was and still is the source for the media icons and REG Keys that we still modify and add to Windows Builds. The custom color images are mapped to their appropriate keys and back to the I/O BUS and Port on the reader. It's better than the default drive icons used and far easier to find with media drive to click on. For more on the drive I chose, look here.

Operating System

I chose Windows Vista Ultimate x64 bit for this build. 64 bit computing has evolved a great deal since Microsoft released Vista. Without question, 64 bit versions of Windows are far more secure and feature Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR), which randomizes where system files load at each system restart. A memory offset, which is always the same in 32 bit versions of the OS, is randomly set when the system starts. As a result of this one change, nearly all remote exploits will fail to run as there is no easy way for attackers to know where any one 64 bit Windows Vista computer will have loaded system files. When coupled with NX bit execution protection, Hardware and software DEP, or Data Execution Protection, remote code exploits against Windows Vista x64 will be very hard to execute. Vista x64's enhanced security alone is enough of a reason to select it over any other operating system available.

Parts List Summary and Pricing (all prices are in USD and include shipping)

Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case.....................................98.00
Antec Quattro 850 Watt PSU........................................................199.00
ASUS P5E X38 Main Board..........................................................220.00
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0.........................................................245.00
Corsair XMS2 2 x 2GB PC6400 DDR2-PC800 RAM Kit.....................84.00
Zalman 9700 LED Cooler................................................................58.00
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound.....................................................6.00
BFG 8800 GTX OC2 786 MB Video Card........................................410.00
Pioneer BDC Blu-ray Player and Combination DVD / CDRW Burner..220.00
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3750330AS 750 GB HDD.................160.00
Rosewill RCR-FD200 Combination floppy drive and media reader........30.00
Windows Vista Ultimate x64 OEM.................................................190.00
PowerDVD Ultra Upgrade................................................................79.00

Total.........................................................................................1,999.00

In part 3 of this arc we'll go into how this perfect PC was built and configured. We're not going to spend a lot of time on the usual images and lame instructions showing people how to install a video card. Most online guides, while they mean well, really don't offer much. Instead we're going to focus on the often overlooked details that few guides touch on.

Build the Perfect Windows Vista PC, Part 1: Discovery and Requirements

admin — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:05:00 GMT

BBAMF64 - Big, Bold, Agile, and Massively Fun

What, you thought that a four-letter word for intercourse wasn't "talk"?

I thought I'd share a small arc about what it is to build not just a computer, but the perfect PC. A lot of IT professionals and computer enthusiasts build their own computers and there are a lot of build guides out there. Repeating less well what others have done is not what I want to try and do. My goals are going to be different and I'm going to share a lot of really fine detail that others most often leave out.

I'm going to begin where I think enthusiasts should start and that is in determining what would make a PC perfect. Obviously what makes a PC perfect to me may differ from what makes a PC perfect for someone else - so what I want to start with is how an enthusiast might develop requirements that help formulate objectives that translate into design considerations that ultimately drive what component parts to source and assemble. This is the same Requirements Analysis and Needs Assessment process we expose customers to and in this form, the process is executed as an interview - a conversation with oneself. Rather than simply source the hottest parts and assess various QVL lists to see which components are compatible with one another and bounce that off of price lists according to what is cheapest, requirements analysis helps enthusiasts understand their own needs better and offers a better chance to achieve success and produce a system that not only satisfies objectives, but delights the user for years to come.

At the beginning of this process I share a saying with customers: "Anyone can put a big enough engine on a brick and make it fly, but that does not mean it's controlled-flight" Most simply, throwing an unlimited budget at any project doesn't guarantee success and it doesn't necessarily produce a perfect PC, or even one computer that is "smooth." Regardless of other requirements and needs, a perfect PC is smooth and by that I mean the computer always responds to user input instantly and it does so parallel to all else the user is doing. It is much like bridge building where different designs are used for different purposes and how the bridge is used determines what kind of bridge is built. Regardless of type, moving across the bridge within its design limitations is always the same and certainly never scary, or fraught with unexpected events. No matter what other requirements emerge, building a computer that is smooth is always at the top of the list and best reflects a balance that is often hardest to achieve alongside other needs.

When I sat down as I had many times before and began the analysis of my own requirements, one stood out above all others: I wanted to build a computer for under two-thousand dollars (USD) that met and or exceeded the Windows Experience Index (WEI) of 5.9 - presently the highest rating possible for a Windows Vista based computer. Before I go further, I want to stress that price was not so much of a consideration as my initial requirements might suggest. The real goal was to see if it would be possible to build a PC that met my performance requirements with a WEI of 5.9, but achieve that goal within a specific budget - more of an engineering challenge than it would be any reflection of a cost / performance ratio. I wanted many enthusiasts to be able to adapt the design and achieve the same performance rating.

As one can see from the image below, the objective was met and it was met under budget and without sacrificing system stability. (in parts 2 and 3 I'll share how it was designed, built, configured and why selections were made)

Since the computer I would be replacing was nearly seven years old (running Windows Vista Ultimate 32 bit with a WEI of 3.6), the only way to properly look at costs would be to assess what the PC cost me each day. Amortized over the number of years I would likely use the machine, the actual daily costs associated with even a very high-end PC are quite low. While I certainly don't expect to keep the new computer as my primary home workstation for quite as long, I do assess that keeping it as my primary home system for four years without any hardware upgrades would be reasonable (the same standard and period applied to the computer it would replace). Some quick math: two grand over four years works out to 1.37 cents (US) a day. Cheaper than a 20 oz. bottle of Coca-Cola Cherry Zero, or one very bad cup of coffee. Since I would be transferring most of my software licenses, less the operating system, which I included in the cost analysis, the new computer would be a great bargain.

With the basics out of the way, it was time to begin to ask myself some questions. I've presented them below as I would ask them of any customer, colleague or friend. I've provided only a few basic answers, which are designed to help enthusiasts begin to visualize the process and I have intentionally seeded answers with elements that reflect some of my own needs. One thing to remember, let the subject talk - let them explain their responses if they choose. In the same light, give yourself time to evaluate your own answers and write them down to review them later. As you explore your own requirements and learn of customers' requirements use the experience to help you. Importantly, ask seemingly unrelated questions; like, what are your favorite colors?. It can help identify and reveal some surprising considerations and help you formulate design constraints when the inevitable process of deciding what to compromise on begins. Remember, the goal is to align requirements, needs, and desires with capabilities and most often, tight budgets without sacrificing the smooth factor at the head of any design. Don't be afraid to ask customers questions they may not understand fully - they create opportunities to help explore what people might use a computer for that they may not have considered. Treat yourself the same way and then research and study answers to your own questions.

Requirements Analysis Survey

In your own words, what do you use a computer for?

High Definition video editing, Green and Blue Screen keying and post processing, Personal Productivity within complex Office documents, Outlook Anywhere (which is always open), IM, which includes Office Communicator, Video and Voice Conferencing, Server and Client OS Virtualization, Remote Access, Print Server Services, Media Sharing, Web Development, SharePoint Development and Administration, Experimentation and Testing, IIS, High Definition Media Playback (Blu-Ray), Gaming and Game Testing. Research and Legal Expert Witness Testimony, Relatively light web-surfing, Demonstration Media Capture and Editing (Video Screen Captures), network drawings, PowerPoint Presentations.

What software are you currently using?

Windows Vista Ultimate, MS Office 2007 Ultimate, Visual Studio 2005, Expression Web, Expression Blend, SharePoint Designer, Visio 2007, SQL Server 2005 Express, Virtual PC 2007, Serious Magic Ultra 2, Pinnacle Studio Ultimate, Ovation, Smart Sounds, Cyberlink Power DVD Ultra, Camtasia Studio 5, TechSmith SnagIt 8, Fluke Networks.

What peripherals do you currently have connected to your computer?

HP Photosmart 3210 all-in-one Series Network Printer, Microsoft Habu Mouse, Microsoft Reclusa Keyboard, Logitech QuickCam Ultra Vision SE, Klipsch ProMedia Speakers.

Since your computer is a workstation and you do not travel with it, are there ever any instances when you do transport it?

No, that would be impractical; it is too heavy.

Are you an avid gamer, or a casual gamer?

That is hard to answer easily. I love games and gamers and I think they are an innovative and driving force in our industry, so I run and test virtually every popular PC game, but I am not good at playing many of them. I do like shooters and MS Flight Simulator and do well in such games, but I need a joystick and a mouse and keyboard, because I could never get used to controllers like those used on consoles. I really try and test to the fullest all popular games and I am especially interested in playing DX10 games at 1920 x 1080P.

Do you enjoy and listen to music?

No. Not at all. It hurts my head and I find very little of it tolerable. I do maintain Zune software on my computer for some of my kids and I help them manage their music collections. The Zune II has been perfect for that.

Do you have and make many digital photos?

No, but many others in my family do. I haven't, because stuffing, or having a camera stuffed in one's face seems to take away a lot from any situation, so it is just not something I have picked up. I do have a great deal of HD video footage, but it is almost all work related.

Do you edit video frequently?

Yes, at least weekly and especially screen captures I use to help customers. It just became easier to record how things were done and share small videos with customers rather than write long emails and conduct longer voice mails. While remote PC access is used and possible, I found that customers really were interested in how things work and they wanted a means to learn. Capturing and sending edited how-to videos became very important and enabled me to do that easily. Customers love it and Camtasia studio has been a great tool for that.

Do you socialize on the web?

Not really. I like face to face exchanges for that. We do use IM for corporate communications via Office Communicator and I do use Live Messenger for chats with distant friends. I also contribute to a few message boards and forums, but that participation is more professional than it is social. I do blog, but that is more about building a help library for people and a reference of articles I can use in support of customers. I've looked at all the social network sites and find all of them a boring waste of time.

Do you like to read?

Yes, I read every day - many hours a day - six or more.

Where do you use your computer?

I have a home office, which is more of a home activity center. Many of my family members use computers in a large media room nearby. I sit at a large wooden desk surrounded by bookshelves overlooking the length of the room which is intentionally darkened so input devices are lighted.

Do you use more than one computer?

Yes, I use nine to eleven computers throughout the day and have one or more near me most of the time. Many are very small and discrete. Others are specifically configured to mirror what different customers use which is important when assisting them over the phone when I am away from our centers and offices.

Since you use many computers, why is one, perhaps more powerful computer, important to you?

As a technology business owner, I learned quickly that one was never entirely away from work and I need a computer that can handle many tasks at once, but since nearly all of my documents and data are stored in our servers at our offices, it is easier to synchronize things among all of them. For example, we have our own Exchange Servers and SharePoint Servers, so Outlook is always the same no matter what computer I am on. The same is true of my documents and screen captures.

You mentioned Exchange and Outlook, how important is messaging and email to you?

Like many people, I live in my email client and it is open on multiple computers throughout the day - so as I move around it all stays sync'd up and I have access to important communications.

Do you have a mobile phone and do you use mobile email?

Yes, I use Windows Mobile 6 on the Motorola Q 9m and Exchange ActiveSync to manage mobile email, contacts, calendar items and tasks. It is configured for Direct-Push email and it is one of the most important tools I have. I have it sync'd up with our company SUV's via Bluetooth, which makes things both safer and far easier on the road.

Do you have a portable media player?

Yes, I have a Zune II that I use for podcasts I like. I use it in our trucks on long drives throughout our market. It is a great way to consume industry and related educational content.

You have a Zune, but are you aware that the Zune does not currently have support for audible books?

Yes, but audible books are not reading to me, so that was not a factor. I know many people like audible books I'm just not one of them. While I read online, I prefer the feel of a book - there is something about how a book feels and how it smells that adds to the experience of reading. Just as with radio as opposed to television, reading a book is a different and more personal experience.

If you had to make a choice and you could choose only one, which would you choose, television or radio?

Definitely radio. One can create a far more vivid image in one's mind than they can hope to see on television.

Given your answer above, do you like movies and do you consume HD movie content and if so, by what methods?

Oh my, yes. We have a large movie collection - not series so much, but feature films. We have many HD DVD's and a stand-alone HD DVD player, that is of course now of less value due to Blu-Ray's win in the format war. We also have a PS3 for Blu-Ray movie playback and selected it, because it is the only BD player with network connectivity that we could find and as the Blu-Ray specification evolves, we wanted to make sure we could move with it. We have several hundred SD DVD's and the Toshiba HD DVD player is ideal for up-converting those titles. We also have Xbox 360 and we use the marketplace to rent HD movies that we aren't sure we want to buy and add to our collection. We also have four HD receivers in our home. One of them is a PVR-DVR where we store a lot of our HD favorites. Perhaps oddly, the sound is often muted unless we are watching a film. It's hard to beat some of the natural science and travel HD programs visually.

Given what appears to be something of a passion for HD content, is HD / Blu-Ray playback important to you in your new computer?

Yes, but more to see if BD playback can be achieved technically and prove to be as reliable and easy to use as a stand-alone player.

You mentioned BD play-back being easy and as easy as using a stand-alone player. Is it important to you that you be able to switch your computer on and off as easily and quickly?

Yes, definitely! Not only that, but I want my computer to be as green as possible and I want it to sip power when it is not needed. I want it to turn on and off as easily as a television and I want it to idle down quickly and use little to no power when not in use.

Do you use head phones at any time?

Yes, a few times a week - when I need to concentrate on weekends and many people are present, I use a set of Bose noise-cancelling on ear headphones to temper ambient noise. I also use them so as not to disturb others when they are playing games, etc...

Do you like air-conditioning and fans?

Are you, kidding? YES! We live in Alabama and aside from four or five minutes in fall and spring, the rest of the year is very hot and humid. I also like the sound of a fan turning at slow speed, but not the high-pitched whine of small fans - more like white-noise, which helps soften other sounds. It helps me concentrate and relax at the same time.

Where you use your computer, do you have carpeting or some other type of flooring?

We have wood floors, but there are area carpets in some places.

Is there a lot of dust where you live?

Yes, we have many trees and there is a lot of natural dust in the air.

Are you sensitive to light and sounds?

Yes, to both. I prefer darkened rooms and low frequency sounds - any higher pitched sound is annoying.

Do you like a lot of bass in movies you watch?

No. Some is okay, but any over-driven amount is not acceptable.

Do you have, or have you considered using dual monitors?

I have been using dual monitors since the 70's when some terminals had dual green screens and on PC's for nearly ten years - since it was first supported in Windows 98. I've always had and advocated the use of dual screens, but recently, with the advent of lower cost large flat panels, that may change for me in certain cases - not all, but in some. Regardless, I want multiple displays as an option - at least two.

In your home network do you have wired and or wireless?

We have both, but I only use wireless where I don't have access to a wire. I would never use wireless on my primary workstation.

Do you have, or use any legacy devices like serial and or parallel devices?

No, not in a long time, BUT I still use a floppy drive and like having that option, because in some cases (fewer these days) updating firmware is easier if one can boot from a floppy disc. While none of our machines at home would require this, customer owned systems might and being able to produce the right kind of disk is still necessary for me ( and I dislike the clutter of external drives ).

Speaking of external drives, do you have one, or do you plan to use one for any purpose, like backups?

No. External drives have some uses, but not in my home. They have not proven to be very reliable and I don't like the added clutter. For backups I use internal drives and drives throughout our wired network. I am interested in deploying a Windows Home Server, but only after they create a suitable x64 bit client for Windows Vista. Right now Windows Home Server only supports 32 bit based systems.

What are your favorite colors?

Black and green and certain shades of blue.

What are your least favorite colors?

Red and white.

Do you like to build your own computers, or have them built for you?

I like to build them with my Son, Chris and most especially when we work with Corey - another of our engineers. We've been building systems with one another for a very long time and it is always a welcome event when we are able to build one for one or the other. We build a lot of machines for customers and they are great designs, but when we build with and for one another, it is a totally different process. The flow of ideas is great and it's just a good time.

With so many computers at home how is any of them personal and why invest in a personal computer?

A personal computer is the most intensely personal device a man has. A PC houses so much of what is important to a person and like a fine car, an enthusiasts rig is an expression of the person. Few objects carry that kind of personal attachment. This is especially relevant to IT/MIS professionals. Frankly, one of the interview questions we ask of prospective hires is what kind of PC they use. If they say they run a Dell, or an HP, chances are that they won't be a good fit with us. If however, the hire goes into great detail about his or her rig and recounts every component in it, then they are most likely to be a good candidate to work with us.

With build-to-order companies out there, like Dell, why not just order a custom computer from one of them; why build your own, or work with a custom builder?

There are many reasons why. Dell and others like them can make great machines and they do. They can offer them for a lot less than a small custom builder can in many cases; however, when you call Dell, or HP who are you to them really? Do they know you and what you do? Do they understand your requirements? NO! They don't. When one needs support, or repairs, what then? Out-sourced tech-support? Not for me and not for many people. I want to be able to call the man that built my computer with his bare hands - in my case that will be myself and my sons and I have their numbers saved in my phone. The point is, the things that matter most aren't being delivered by the large OEM's. Also, with a custom builder I know that I'll get a complete system up front - all the services and software will be baked in and I'll have a complete turn-key solution. The large OEM's aren't in that business. We are and other custom builders and solid industry partners are. Finally, there is the element of control and having an open platform. I can build, or buy from a custom builder a system that can easily be added to, and modified to suite changing needs. Four years from now when I am looking for an upgrade, I want to be able to go out to the entire community - and not just the OEM I bought the PC from. The bottom line is that I want it to be a personal computer - not an appliance.

Do you sit or stand when you work on your computer?

Both. I stand a lot and think better when I move around.

Do you remotely access your computer and if yes, how?

Yes. I use the Remote Desktop Protocol and the Microsoft Terminal Services Advanced Client 6.x

What do you like most about computers and the idea of new more powerful computer?

The potential for doing so much good with them.

What do you dislike most about moving to a new computer?

Setting up all the very fine details that make my computer personal and missing my old rig. Despite its age and slower pace, it has been a loyal and dependable companion. Weird as it may sound, I will miss the original BBAMF quite a lot. A lot of people who care for me helped me build her and keep her running well. I intend to keep her safely stored as a keepsake - after all, she helped me build a company and care for my family.

Armed with the answers to the questions above, it's time to begin the analysis and start the process of designing the perfect PC. Requirements Analysis is hard work. No one requirement can be treated in isolation and dependencies have to be identified. Two things stand out right away and based upon the example requirements and survey responses, it is clear that an HDCP capable machine is going to be required and against the budget allocated, it also means that a capable processor will likely have to be over-clocked to haul the mail. That means that stock air cooling is out and an airy case is going to be a certainty.

In part 2 of this arc I'll present the design considerations based upon the answers provided and the share how the research was conducted. I'll also share the parts list, costs and factors driving the build.

In part 3 I'll discuss the build and share specific settings used to pull the system up from a respectable mid 5's WEI to its rock solid and perfect 5.9

Until then, all I can say is that the new rig, "BBAMF64" is everything I designed it to be and while we have thrown enough money at other builds to match its performance, none of them comes close to how this new computer feels under the mouse and keyboard.

Cheers!

Lloyd

@Chris, "Thanks for the inspiration, Son!"

Vista, It is what it is...

admin — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:54:00 GMT

Next to, "You today, me tomorrow..." it is what it is has to be my favorite saying.

Windows Vista is what it is... and while it is just an operating system, it is at the center of a pretty important ecosystem and relevant to nearly all of us working in the technology industry.

Explanations are often simple... we often cannot change things, but we can respond to them in productive ways - it is a choice and choosing to find the best in all things and all people isn't a bad one. Embracing things for what they are, and making the very best of them, can be a lot more productive than looking for faults. You today, me tomorrow... - you may need my help today and I will gladly give it, because sure as day follows night, I will need your help in the morning. I tell every member of my family and teams at work (they really are one in the same) to always seek out the best in all people and all things, because if one looks for faults, one is 100% certain to find them - if one looks for the best, they are likely to find that, too - most especially in themselves.

I take some flak for not being more frequently critical of Windows Vista. The time for that is past and, as a Microsoft Partner, any misgivings I had for the new OS were appropriately delivered when the operating system was in testing - they were many, and they were sharply delivered. On occasion, my criticisms weren't especially helpful or even professional and from time to time, they were best characterized as a mad rant. On other occasions they were productive and delivered in appropriate and perhaps helpful ways. I've been in this industry for much longer than many seasoned IT/MIS professionals have been alive and I knew Windows Vista was in for a rough ride in a following sea. I'm old enough to know more than operating systems; I know our industry and more than a thing or two about communications, media and business as they relate to technology. I knew that collectively, many aspects of our society and industry were going to line up and bash the ever loving crap out of Windows Vista. I'll get to why in a moment...

As Vista shipped and rapidly matured, our roles changed - evaluations ended and work would begin. Work to design, test and deploy computers and networks that delight customers and run Windows Vista, and work to make sure that customers remain delighted, productive and safer while on-line. As a partner, not just of Microsoft's, but of an industry, it is our responsibility to act like one and deliver on our end. It's easy to take that the wrong way - to be labeled, and branded with hot irons as a mere shill. That isn't appropriate and the word "partner" needs to be considered - what it means and what it means to be a good one. First, partnering is about fairness, honesty, integrity and objectivity. Partnering is also about being loyal to those one partners with. Entering into a partnership is not easy and should not be taken lightly. It isn't about seeking unfair advantage, or cutting and running when things aren't going as well as they might be. Being a good partner demands that one embrace the full weight of their responsibility and seek out and implement solutions. Being a good partner is also about being good in a storm and working with what you have as opposed to what you want. Above all else, being a good partner is about being consistent. So when a new operating system ships, a good partner learns it - its strengths, its weaknesses and the many ways to shape it to suite one's customers. In that spirit and opposite all the companies and governments with which we partner, we apply our best efforts. While on occasion we do not see the same effort in return, in most cases we see those we partner with treat us with equal respect, objectivity and loyalty. We are consistent about that and as such companies are consistent with us and our collective customers benefit and trust us with their business. That is the simple math attending what it is to be a partner - of Microsoft's or of any other company.

Working with Windows Vista is and has been no different. Vista, like any operating system, takes effort - consistent effort and a continuous pursuit of excellence. Vista, like any operating system, is no panacea, but it is a platform that certainly can be discovered and managed with reasonable effort - and certainly it requires no more effort than any version of Windows before it. I expected other partners and industry experts to continue to embrace similar interpretations of what it is to work in our industry.

What I did not expect is that a large percentage of on-line experts and technology pundits would prove to be as subjective as they have been. Objectivity, testing, discovery and problem solving don't sell well these days. "Snark" does. Take Michael J. Miller, - very accomplished, equally objective and most experienced. He doesn't write for PC Magazine any longer. Why? He's objective, thorough, thoughtful and accurate - one would think he'd be doing amazingly well in the tech journalism space... But wait..he's not snarky; doesn't look snarky and he couldn't pull off cool if his backside were immersed in liquid nitrogen. He doesn't fit the modern mold and what now passes for journalism. Mr. Miller is one other thing in my opinion, he's morally courageous - rather than jump on Snarky's Machine, he got off and now heads up technology strategy at Ziff Brothers Investments, a private investment firm.

In Snark Infested Waters, one can't solve problems, or build things that actually work well. In the land and day of the Snark, it's illegal to use even simple tools to diagnose and resolve computer problems. If you do, you're a shill, or worse, a liar and a fraud. Thousands of Microsoft Partners build terrific Windows Vista computers - nearly 130 million at last count. A big percentage of those computers run really well and the people that use them will probably never read a computer magazine - much less a blog like this. The computers we build run really well - not because we love computers, but because we really do care about the people that use the computers we build. And yes, we do love some of our customers - as friends, brothers and close colleagues often do. We also love to work with computers and at least one of my boys wishes he was directly jacked into them (some days I think he is - he's that good)

Building great experiences based on Windows Vista is not hard to do. While it requires effort, that effort is not especially great, or unreasonable - if it were, we could not afford to do it and the objective side of what it is to be a partner would have to communicate that we could not do it. Are there challenges faced when building a Vista based computer? You bet! Are the challenges really tough? No! They are in fact, fewer and less problematic than they are with previous versions of Windows and a lot less challenging than those inherent to non-Windows operating systems. (I gotta ask... how many Linux based computers have you built this year? ...That are really used by real people? How many? - I'd bet I have built and shipped more than any tech pundit I have written about. (how many kids have you taught to install and configure Linux as well as Windows Vista? How many?)).

Snarking for a living - does any of us really think Jim Louderback could configure a Linuces if he couldn't solve his problems with Windows Vista?

It has become so bad that one can't offer solutions - not unless they require a Snarkel to breathe... Let's say rather than speak objectively about Windows Vista and share solutions we discover for that which challenges it and based upon a positive perspective, instead and for ad dollars, I stated what is not true - and that I hated it... but here's how to fix it... sort of... (I'd be an article over at Maximum PC?). Well... I'd be lying. I like the new version of Windows. Do I like everything about it? Nope. Do I like more about it than I don't like about it? Absolutely!

What don't I like about Vista? Well... a lot, actually... I am used to placing the Network icon on the desktop and right-clicking it to get to adapter properties. In Vista we all know such things are found much deeper in the UI. Ok and I understand that a) adjusting network settings is a lot easier for end users of Vista, b) one does not very often adjust network adapter properties and c) in enterprise environments these are managed for users, or at least pre-set... I get that, but I still miss how quickly I could get to them in previous versions of Windows.

What I like about Vista is Instant Search and that saves me and many users a lot more time than having readier access to the adapter and its property sheet. Staying positive can be easy and produce good results - by example, type Network into Vista's instant search box and you'll note that the third return at the top is for the Network Sharing Center - offering a lot more than simple access to adapter properties.

So perhaps Vista isn't bad...? it's different... it is what it is...

Snarks are, too... To me the modern Snark is best exemplified by Mr. Chris Pirillo. He seems to have found new relevance in a sea of Snarks by emulating them and gaining the attention of and ad dollars from sponsors that are also competitors of Microsoft's and therefore Vista. Chris wants us to believe that a move from Outlook 2000 to Outlook 2007 on Vista is somehow more traumatic and unacceptable than a complete move to a new platform (OS X). He adds to this difficult to grasp logic by comparing (favorably) features and behaviors in Apple's mail.app to Outlook 2000?!? - without ever running Outlook 2007... all while simply saying, "Outlook" Huh?!? (Which version, Chris and in which configuration? Outlook Anywhere? Outlook 2000 as a POP3 Client? Yeah, I thought so...)

Chris continues to confuse at least me, by venting buckets of spleen over an HP Printer / Scanner that I'd guess is at least as old as his preferred version of Outlook (1999/2000??) which proved to be unsupported by Windows Vista... and by some means, in the land and sea of the Snark, a new printer is more costly than a new Mac Pro with dual quad core processors and 16 GB of fully buffered RAM?!?!? What?!?

But wait... as Chirs sorta, kinda, revealed... his sponsors helped him acquire that new $5,000.00 Mac Pro and all that RAM.

Ok, no problem at all. Chris can do what he likes by whatever means he likes... and so can I.

I have a couple of problems with Chris Pirillo opposite not his move, but how it was couched. He's a "tech expert" and surely he could have run the Windows Update Advisor before choosing to move to Windows Vista and discovering his software and hardware were unsupported? Certainly he could have. He could have disclosed the results of his discovery and if the advisor had misinformed him, then he would have had a legitimate reason to hold Vista and Microsoft to task. As an expert to the many people who trust him, Chris could have and should have simply presented the facts, but he didn't, or worse, couldn't because, may be, perhaps... he's not really a PC expert at all? I think he is an expert, and that troubles me.

So either Chris is an expert, or he's not. Regardless, I wish him success. If he's not an expert, cool. He's just a nice kid that's found his voice and an audience to share it with. Fine. As I see it, if he is an expert, then he's got some issues that go well beyond the mild OCD and ADD he shares with his viewers... he's got some integrity issues that should cost him and plenty. If, as an expert Chris and many like him, intentionally shape the truth for personal gain and ad dollars from Microsoft's competitors, then we have to start to ask a lot more questions and in a lot of different ways. If Chris, like Mr. Miller, was losing traction and relevance in the modern world of the Snark, we have to ask what the real motivations were for his recent move. Unlike Mr. Miller, Chris seems to have taken a different and in my opinion, less than honorable route. Was it simply a matter of money and relevance, or was it that he simply did not like Vista? The later is fine, and so is the former - so long as Chris is candid about it. Choice and candor are always respected. BS and most especially, Snarky BS are not.

It's really simple... dislike Vista all you want. Scream from the mountain tops that you hate it. But the second one leverages a position of trust to present less than accurate information in order to gain favor and ad dollars from competitors of the product being bashed, then that is where I find real trouble and real reasons to be concerned.

It's fine and good to compete - with Microsoft most especially - just do it openly and candidly and even if you think that Microsoft abused its dominant position in the market, that never justifies dumping your own integrity. Multiple wrongs don't make things right and injustices aren't mitigated by any one sense of justice.

To me, people are jumping naked into Snark Infested Waters, because there's money in it.

Scratching my head...

admin — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:03:00 GMT

I just don't get it.

What in H.E. Double-Hockey-Sticks are people doing that has caused so many to have so much trouble running Windows Vista?

Some Background:

I need to share a different perspective - the only one I know and that is the one shaped by what we encounter in my company each and every day. For me, Windows Vista has been wonderful and I have come to really enjoy using and supporting the operating system.

We are a full service technology company. We build computers, laptops, media centric systems, and servers. We build and manage the networks we build the computers to run in. We host a wide variety of services and we build a lot of software - custom Decision Control Panels, a complete ERP and just about everything in between. We operate our own datacenters and we sell bandwidth; our own circuits and related products and services. We are Microsoft Partners, and we have partnering relationships with many others, AT&T (we miss you Bellsouth), Verizon, Packet8, WiLife, and a dozen other smaller companies. The best part of what we do is support our customers. We know them and their businesses well, and they are the best part of every day. Frankly, they amaze and humble us - they are that good and more supportive of us than any company deserves.

We've been around Windows Vista for a long time - since well before BETA 2. Ironically, but not happily, when I first saw BETA 2 of Windows Vista, I was furious. I could tell that the new operating system was going to have one heck of a rough time. I wrote a lot about why I assessed Vista would struggle and why the Windows base would revolt. At that time I was flamed for being either too harsh, or as one gut put it, "a drama queen" ( I nearly pissed myself laughing at that one - because I despise drama for the pure sake of it - I do call things as I see them, however... ). I wish I was wrong and wish Vista had been embraced - after all, we are Microsoft Partners and in all sincerity, as with all partners, loyalty matters. So BETA 2 impressions be damned, we were going to give Vista our best efforts - and we did / do.

Beginning with Pre-RC1 Vista builds, things were looking up - the new OS was taking shape and its legs were less wobbly. By RC2 and the incremental post RC2 build just before RTM, it was clear that the new OS was going to run well. There were a few scary moments there, just before RC1 - when as a NAT Client behind Watch-Guard firewall appliances, the new networking stack in Vista and the image we were testing didn't get along. Microsoft's engineers were really quick to jump on that one and by RC1, NAT Client issues were resolved. It was fun to work with them and feel their very deep sense of urgency. It felt good to have helped resolve a real challenge and well... work as a partner.

Expectations:

Candidly, we didn't expect much from Windows Vista at first. We had tested a wide variety of systems and having been through the entire new OS process many times before, we didn't expect a perfect ride, or even an easy one. We were wrong - deploying RTM builds of Vista went off without nearly as much difficulty as XP had caused and a whole lot less than Windows 2000 did, and just wads less than the first builds of Windows 98 did over Windows 95 - compared to those experiences, Windows Vista over XP was a walk in the park. Memories of Windows 95 upgrades aren't fair for two reasons, 1) it was so new in so many ways, there wasn't a relevant example to compare it to, and 2) things were not nearly as complex back then as they would be by the time Windows 98 rolled out a short time later. There are however, two similarities between Windows 95's release and that of Windows Vista. First, we didn't expect much of Windows 95 either, and second, both operating systems surprised us - both were better from the start than we anticipated and both required some exploration to come to understand.

Experiences:

The day Windows Vista was released to business customers I did a clean install of Vista Ultimate on a then three year old Compaq laptop (NX9600) that had been a test system since BETA 2. The clean install took about twenty-two (22) minutes soup-to-nuts. Everything worked. A quick pass on the reference video card driver from Windows Update and a manual install of the release WHQL Video driver from ATI (they were still called that then), and I was done. The laptop has been great since day one. It's running SP1 RTM now (manually downloaded from MSDN) which was installed after removing the latest SP1 RC refresh and using Windows Update to prepare the system for SP1 RTM. None of the nonsense I have read about Vista has manifested itself on the system - the very one I am writing this post on now. The same is true of Office 2007, which I installed the same day. While it took a little getting used to (like an hour) I quickly fell in technical-love with the new Office Ribbon UI. I knew that Vista was going to index my drive, so I let it do that and settle in while I went back to work.

By the end of the next day, all of our office systems had been updated and I had upgraded another computer - clean install around an existing XP Pro install - placing the old installation into the familiar Windows.old directory for an easy transfer back into the user profile. Again, zero issues were encountered with the install, or use of the computer. It too is running Vista SP1 RTM.

By Christmas of 2006, all of my home systems were running Windows Vista Ultimate. The last of them to be upgraded is a test media centric box that I have written about here. It was an in-place upgrade over XP Media Center Edition, which took several hours. It has been a flawless system that we have pushed really hard and despite the load, it has held up incredibly well. One of my son's has a similar box driving multiple TV tuners and digital cable boxes (he records all the TV he views) and his has been just as solid. Both are running Vista SP1 RTM and both updated without incident.

The day Windows Vista went into general release we deployed our first media centric system connected to a 65" professional series Panasonic 1080P panel. It was a fun build and it has been running beautifully for over a year. The first weekend after that and we deployed our first network of Vista computers into a medical practice running an ancient patient information system parallel to a wide variety of diagnostic and instrumentation software. That network has been flawless and the mix of client software supported proved to us that Vista was ready for business.

Again, there were no surprises, less Vista itself. We just didn't expect it to do as well as quickly as it did. As Vista matured, so much of what made it different began to reveal itself. How it reports problems and how they are worked on and how solutions are delivered was frankly, amazing.

Over the last year we have built and deployed many Vista based systems and networks for businesses of many types - from engineering firms to hospitals and retail sales stores using Microsoft Point Of Sale 2.0 and in each case, Vista has been simple to use and rock solid. Better still, customers have loved it and have come to rely on it.

Witnessing:

Also during the last year we have read, heard and seen one alleged technical expert after another whine about and then allege to have abandoned Windows Vista. This has been surprising and makes me wonder what these alleged experts are doing and what they are running. If we hadn't used Vista in so many different ways, and opposite so many different pieces of specialty software and hardware, I might be able to understand them better, if not for the diversity of what we do and how close we are to the day to day use of Vista by so many different types of users - for the life of me, I just don't get it and can't see what they are talking about.

Since we don't buy OEM manufactured computers, but custom build our own, I guess one could say we can control the processes better, but one would think that the large OEM's with their engineering resources, would have a great handle on their designs and mix of components. I have to believe that the likes of Dell and HP are most capable of making great machines. Similarly, we upgraded so many old and different systems, that one would think we would have seen at least a few of the insurmountable obstacles that many technology pundits assert they have experienced.

Most recently, Chris Pirillo joined the legion of the lost and quit Windows for OS X. His explanation was simply weird and laced with spleen directed not so much at Microsoft, but Windows Vista and as he put it, "the direction it had taken." I haven't seen much of Chris Pirillo in recent years and I don't know much about what he has experienced, so it is harder to grasp what he means. I do find it very odd that someone who is supposed to be strong technically could have been so challenged by the new Windows. One thing I did note is that he was using Outlook 2000 and compared its capabilities with OS X Leopard's version of mail.app? Huh? (Bleeding edge technology enthusiast and he uses Outlook 2000? - one would think that he'd use hosted Exchange opposite his own domain and Outlook 2007 (Outlook Anywhere). That one example makes me question what exactly Chris knows and what his real skill level is. It just does not make any sense. Anyone who understands a lick about messaging (certainly any "Tech Expert") would at least be familiar with Outlook Anywhere - after all, the capability has been supported since 2000!

Before Chris there was Jim Louderback, and the chief editor over at Maximum PC (whom I opine must surrender the Minimum BS tag line under the magazine's title to those who can make a PC run better than they apparently can(not)).

Leo Laporte, who in 1998 thought that the Active Desktop in Windows 98 was akin to the second coming, long ago left Windows in favor of Apple, Mac OS X and anything the company does, or says. The outright fallacies about Microsoft and Vista coming from Mr. Laporte's mouth are so outrageous and patently inaccurate, that it's just funny - which to his credit, I assess is his goal - to simply entertain. At least I hope that is the case. I hope his show with Paul Thurrott is amusing to both of them, because it offers precious little value to Windows users trying to get the most out of the platform - but hey, I'm sure they both score well on the "Snark Attack" meters so popular in the bay area.

At least John C. Dvorak admits that he has never used Windows Vista and like something of a gentleman, he's been largely silent on the matter - but for Mr. Dvorak, largely silent is still pretty vocal. So for a guy that has not used the new OS much, it's always a special treat to hear him chime in about what makes it so bad, or why it will fail. Mr. Dvorak, you know better, I think...

The guys over at Revision3 are a complete trip - dripping with cool - as cool as a bunch of tards can be, that is. Any intern we have ever had knows more about technology than they seem to and watching them work Vista over hits one's gag reflex pretty quick. They're lucky most people really do not know much about computers, or they'd never have been funded. Poor, poor VC's - round after wasted round...

What any of these people are running for hardware is anyone's wag.

Guessing:

I don't know what any of these people are using, but it can't possibly be hardware from the following little known manufacturers: (the stuff we use)

Intel
ASUS
Seagate
Nvidia
Plextor
Antec
Creative
Logitech
Microsoft (keyboards, mice and video cameras)
WiLife (now part of Logitech)
HP
Hauppauge
Crucial
Micron

Given the differences in what we actually experience with Vista day to day, and what we read and hear from "Tech Experts", I have to ask: "exactly what does it take to be considered a computer expert these days?"

Trust but Verify:

Just a quick hint for people who really want to get at what is going on with Windows Vista in the one area that truly can cause users some trouble.. go to START, and in the search box type verifier - the top most search return will be a little program called, verifier.exe. This is the Driver Verifier Manager in Windows Vista and it is one of the best tools baked into the new operating system. The driver verifier isn't new - it's been around in one form or another since Windows 2000 and it is a great way to assess installed drivers. In Windows Vista the verifier one can use the default first option to Create standard settings. The next option and task is to Automatically select unsigned drivers. This will detect any unsigned drivers if they exist. Having no unsigned drivers is the desired result.

In my example, as depicted at the image inserted below, I have run the verifier tool on my oldest Windows Vista system (a six year old Pentium 4 3.06 [w/HT] that uses a Promise Super Trak 6 channel RAID controller). As can be seen, I have run the verifier tool, discovered an unsigned driver and the next step is to restart the system to verify the driver. In the absence of driver signing, verifying the driver is a good way to test and "verify" if it is stable. Now, from where I sit, this is the sort of thing that the "Tech Experts" I have mentioned above, should be using for themselves and sharing with others (provided that they are sincerely interested in helping and informing people and not more interested in ad based revenue opposite "Snark Infested Waters fed by rivers of Bovine Scatology!").

I really like the idea of verifying systems and all that goes into them. There are tools readily available to all users to help them verify their own systems and at least get them oriented in the right direction. I think as users of computers we have a right and an obligation to expect that those that are held out as experts, or allow themselves to be regarded as expert computer users, be as thoughtful as possible. When they do not back up what they say with data and they do not appear to use available testing and diagnostic tools, I think we have to begin to examine what they say and write with our own more thoughtful approach. We have to begin to press the experts with tougher questions and demand answers. If the tech industry's experts can't get their systems to run, let's ask them what they are running and what exactly they are doing that produces such terrible results. Let's examine more closely their business relationships with competitors of the products they assert are so bad. I think we owe it to ourselves to hold "experts" to task and request that they publish the data supporting what they say. I say we need to trust, but verify and get to the bottom of the matter.

I just can't believe that we are simply lucky and for some odd reason that we cannot explain, our Windows Vista experiences have been so much better than what the online experts have shared. It's just too easy to verify things and Vista simply has too many instrumentation tools available to it for issues and questions to persist.

I trust what I see and what I see is a good Vista. I no longer trust our industry's experts - not because I disagree with them, but because I do not see any evidence of their use of expert tools. There is nothing to base trust upon and one "Snark Attack" after another, does not evidence make.

What we'll see this year

admin — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:23:00 GMT

The year is only getting started and if we have our way, it will be among the most exciting years we've ever seen.

We've completed our very own Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software suite - "Sovereign" as it is called internally. Ten years worth of work and we finally have a product that makes an ERP available for small and medium sized businesses. We've baked in project management, resource planning, mapping, charting, Decision Control Panels, financials, HR, CRM, and much more to a product that easily integrates with messaging systems, IP telephony and rights management systems. Sovereign, added to our custom built hardware, managed networks and the services we host for customers, completes our Hardware + Software + Services model and Value-Plus strategy. We stayed on this vision for over a decade and we're confident that it will pay off for our customers.

ERP software aside, there is just so much more to look forward to this year.

I wanted to take a few moments to share what I see in my crystal ball... not that it is any clearer than any other...

Convergence will continue to push software into everything. High Definition is not enough and product differentiation will see HDTV's and other display panels get a lot brainier - panels will have built in clients and interfaces supporting connections to down-loadable content stores as well as native Windows Media Center Extenders.

Display panels will also lose their wires and begin to feature Ultra-Wide band interfaces - making them not only great clients, but great hosts and we'll see the first panels that can store content for wireless distribution to other small panels.

Logitech (I hope) will come up with a platform that uses good software to distribute high-resolution pictures, video and music to ~~intelligent~~ brilliant picture frames.

Logitech's WiLife line of small office and home video surveillance systems will take off in a huge way, and home control devices and equally smart software will follow quickly.

Microsoft will ship both an add-on Blu-Ray disc player and a new Xbox 360 version that features both Blu-Ray and a special software package designed especially for home media enthusiasts. While thew new "Xbox Media Station" (My guess, and not any official name) can play games, its focus will be on entertainment - HD Movies, TV, On-line Content (Podcasts, Streaming Media) and as a client for Zune owners and the Zune Marketplace. It may even be a full on IPTV client (again, a guess and a hope).

Microsoft will also ship a new Xbox "Slot" device - an Xbox on a card that OEM's can use to integrate with PC's and provide for integration of the Xbox to the PC in either a hardware virtualization supported play, or by software virtualization alone (once again, a sincere hope).

At a minimum, Microsoft will remove the barriers between the Xbox and Games for Windows and rejuvenate gaming on the PC one way or another (this is a prayer as much as a hope)

Thin will be way in. Apple was right and the Macbook Air is on the right path - although others like ASUS and Toshiba will do it better. Light, thin, second client PC's will become very popular.

That is about all Apple will get right this year. Apple has peaked and people are sick of the snark. The term,"Snark Attack" will become popularized, as a sub-set of our society expresses its frustration with Apple and its special way of branding products at the expense of others. Apple will release new iPods (so what), but the sleeper ride in the room is the Zune II. With its all you can eat buffet of growing content, it'll quickly eat up Apple market share in the higher end of the DMP space.

Apple's iTunes is already dead as we know it. The rules are changing and subscription based content will cut deeply into Apple. Apple will have a very hard time mending fences with content owners and distributors. The Apple TV II is too little, too late and Apple will suffer for it.

Apple's OS X will do alright throughout most of the year, but will end up the subject of a lot of security issues by Christmas. Security software for OS X will become quite popular.

The iPhone II will ship in November (without Exchange support) and fail against a dizzying array of competing products it inspired that do have native support for Exchange. Apple's refusal to license ActiveSync will be the undoing of the iPhone (Pure speculation - as I have no idea why Apple can't seem to get Exchange support).

Sony and the PS3 will receive a real bump, and as Paul Thurrott correctly opined, in the end, the PS3 will triumph over all. It will be well on its way by year's end, but it will not execute as well as Microsoft will with the 360. Both players will be great choices for gaming and entertainment and in the end, Sony may prevail - after all.... it has proved it can buy content owners' loyalty and libraries, or leverage that which it owns outright. In this space, content will be king.

Windows Vista will prove to be very resilient to any form of attack. As numbers supporting actual exploits (or the lack of them, as it will be shown) are published, enterprises will line up to adopt the new OS. By year's end, Windows Vista will be warmly embraced as a very secure platform member and respect for it will grow exponentially. Enterprises will then speak to Vista's other great strength, lower operating costs and ease of deployment and manageability, and more than one CIO will find him/herself answering some tough questions presented by those counting beans.

PAN's or Personal Area Networks and Windows Vista's NW stack will become popular blogging topics - as personal networks of securable objects transform our understanding of what a PAN is (read, not a Bluetooth based PAN, but something much more significant). Essentially, not just data, but personal and business intelligence, will begin to come with us and as one's PAN overlaps with the PAN's of others, we'll see some amazing work done in software that begins to hint of the world our kids and grandkids will take for granted. We'll all become "social" and information and finalized intelligence product will be all around us - bugging us with ads on one hand and informing and entertaining us with the other.

Cable and Satellite providers will scramble for dance partners and the lines between telco's and media carriers will blur. The FCC and federal regulators won't be able to keep up and both legislators and lawyers will scrape off more than their share of the profits - as they side-step the losses.

Google's share price will crater. The one-trick pony has no song and dance and not a dog is to be seen for the pony to play with. Headlines like, "What went wrong?" will be all over the web and no one will be happy about it at all... having just barely dodged a recession in the U.S., the Google Bubble bursting will not be celebrated by anyone - not even Microsoft.

Revision3 will fail - as traditional content carriers with better production facilities finally figure out that they can plug into the Internet, too. Leo Laporte and his entire line-up of Twit programming will be the catalyst and provide the content and leadership for the carriers with the brains and balls to see it happen. Some Revision3 faces will appear on those networks. Leo won't be magnanimous in victory - and he shouldn't be.

John Dvorak will retire and write children's books and prove he can be as sweet as he can be cynical. (this one I actually believe).

The EU and its anti-US-trust arm will continue to suck blood out of U.S. and European companies. If any one company succeeds in any way at all, it will be subject to the anti-trust TAX. It is a TAX - make no mistake about it.

One day our grandkids will look back at all of it and all of us and ask, "WTF? How did you live like that?"

The Day the PC Died

admin — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:39:00 GMT

Placing my head in a bucket with a small hole drilled in the bottom, I wander around aimlessly, looking for the sense I lost in a sea of sand...one granule is what I seek...only one...

That sense is really a decision to see the good in all things and is born and reborn of the choice one makes to seek it out and of the discipline required to ignore all that is perceived to be bad around it - one granule in a sea of sand.

When what one does for a living is design and build personal computers, it can be very easy to get lost and lose sight of why we do it - with so many changes impacting the PC industry and so many pressures on builders, large and small, it is all too easy to get swept away in a sea of negative energy. Costs are up - way up, and margins could not be more down. Differentiation is all but impossible for smaller builders who have less access to the resources large builders have to develop compelling case designs with a fashionable twist - a nice trend driving some laptop sales. All in one designs are attractive, but expensive [to buy and build], underpowered and only fit a very small segment of the market - where too few people are willing to drop so much for so little on a second computer, or as a replacement for the primary systems people usually pass down as they moved up - moving up to less power? Not gonna happen...

It is little wonder why PC sales are not only not growing like they could, but why they offer so little profit essential to those building them.

What did it? What killed the PC? On what date did the PC die?

On March 10, 2000 the "X-box Project" was officially confirmed by Microsoft, and on that date, the PC died. Microsoft, killed the personal computer as we knew it. We didn't know it, but Microsoft did [more on why they did it later on in this article].

While Microsoft would not launch the original Xbox until November 15th, 2001 [in North America], the stake that would eventually kill the PC had already been driven home - the moment Microsoft announced that they intended to enter into the gaming and entertainment console business. One can't fault Microsoft, they are a software company and too many people forget that. Microsoft builds software for everything and creating or driving markets into which their software is sold is not only their right, but part of their corporate responsibility. Regardless, Microsoft killed the personal computer - actions that would eventually strip it of everything personal, less the pretty paint and colored plastic seen on some laptops. Microsoft's decision gutted an industry and eviscerated all but a few very agile and inventive small builders who bake services into their wares and sell hardware as part of a more comprehensive offering.

Microsoft's decision had two additional and predictable consequences, Apple, who sells the perception of a life-style, would survive and prosper [as just another OEM builder - after all, how many more Windows and Microsoft Office licenses are sold to those buying Macs?], and enthusiasm for personal computers would wane as what was left of the computer business fought for market share based on price. As millions and then hundreds of millions of low-powered, under-protected and unmanaged PC's flooded the market, the magic wore off at a rate about equal to the increased instances of mal-ware infections. The PC had officially become a commodity and boring - and no amount of colored plastic was going to change that.

Microsoft's decision had another, and I assess anticipated consequence, Windows Vista would take a beating. After all, where there is little enthusiasm for the PC as a platform, how much tolerance could exist for a new operating system and all the bumps and horns that come with them in their first year of life? As a commodity the PC had no power to bolster itself, much less a new OS that was vastly more complex than its predecessor.

The second Microsoft announced plans for the Xbox, it signaled PC gamers and enthusiasts that they no longer mattered to the company. Notice is said, the company, and not necessarily the people who work in it, or lead it. I am sure there are islands of people within Microsoft that did not agree with the change in direction. I am also fairly certain that the change occurred at a time when there were a great many distractions impacting the company and its leaders related to the anti-trust case against it. I've been through some soul searching changes in my own business and it's tough stuff. I'm quite certain senior leaders at Microsoft were hurt and way down deep where it sticks for a bit. By the time things settled down, the PC was dead as an object of affection and more and different types of software had to be built. Its death, like the move of software and connected intelligence into all things electrical, was inevitable. The Digital Natives had taken over everything was, "Meh" or worse, "I want my meh right now!" Industry influencers just a few years older were too busy buying houses and birthing babies to give a flip - they were busy getting used to the idea that they weren't bullet proof after all.

Gamers mattered. PC Enthusiasts mattered [so often one in the same]. Both groups were bent over and ...<This is where you are invited to insert your own creative strings of expletives> <Use your imagination and make any Navy Chief blush and run for cover in the nearest brothel>. Gamers mattered to the PC. They didn't and don't matter to Microsoft, or any other software, or consumer electronics company. The PC needed gamers and it needed enthusiastic young people to love it. Without support from a company like Microsoft, the PC died and its most important base of users was betrayed and left out in the cold.

Games for Windows - Peoples Exhibits 'A' 'B' 'C' 'D' 'E' and 'F' [Your Honor... the prosecution rests...]

Games for Windows my giddy aunt... there are barely enough titles to justify the plural form of the word, "game." The image above, taken at the Best Buy in Hoover, Alabama says it all... even the sign, which I tried to fix, is broken. Slapped up there like some after thought, the sign had a single peg that wouldn't hold its own weight. It sagged haplessly over a dismal selection of titles, seemingly cast aside like misfit toys on Christmas Eve. Stalking [as in hunting] one's way through stacks of discounted Sony Play Station 3 40 GB systems, I was on a mission - buy two copies of Unreal Tournament III - one for myself and our younger boys and one for my eldest Son, Chris. UT3 isn't even an official Games for Windows title and as if to further communicate just how bad things are, the UT3 "DVD" comes packaged in one of the older thick multi-disc CDROM cases - most likely picked up at reduced bulk rates by the game's distributors. In the background, one of the legion of "Guitar Queero's" can be seen jamming to a song he can listen to, but will likely never "hear."

Just a short detour...

The drive home was pretty quiet. Normally we'd have jabbered on and on about how we were going to set up a gaming server and tear it up for a few hours. It was kind of sad, but telling... while we had wisely aligned our company to suite the new market a decade ahead of the changes that flattened many others, there wasn't much satisfaction in it at all. Hardware + Software + full-Services can be and are compelling and we're glad we continue to prosper, but we miss our PC Brothers in Arms - we even miss the competition. We miss the youthful enthusiasm.

When we got to our home my son installed UT3 to one of the custom media systems we built - an older AV centric P4 running Vista Ultimate and fitted with an Nvidia 8800 GTS SD [768 MB RAM]. While not a screamer, it holds its own with a WEI of 4.8 [lower due to the older CPU]. The rig is connected via a DVI to HDMI adapter to a 52" LCD and runs at 1920 x 1080P. The image is stunning to say the least and this PC, as a media test platform, has been tougher than woodpecker lips. It still amazes us by running so well, despite the pounding its life as a test mule has exposed it to. It's running the latest WHQL video drivers and SP1 RTM for Vista and just as through every month before, it still runs as flawlessly as when it was born.

Chris set up the game and rammed its settings sliders hard over - 1920 x 1080, it would be, or we'd build until it was...anything less would not be accepted. As Chris played UT3 the imagery was incredible and the PC delivered delicious frame after butter-smooth frame. It was flawless in terms of technical performance and simply amazing to watch. A couple of the older boys came in the den and echoes of "Whoa" and "Man... great graphics; what game is that?" were exclaimed. "UT3 on the By God PC!" was Chris' answer - he didn't say the words; he didn't have to; his face said it all - as he blasted his way to victory after victory in Deathmatch and Capture the Flag events.

The younger boys didn't bite and back to Call of Duty 4 on the 360 and reality we all went... woo little hoo hoo and whoop little whoop d' doo...

CoD4 wouldda, shouldda, couldda been on the PC as a hit - humbling every console before it... but it isn't... it's on the 360 where Plug-N-Play really is plug and play. Without Microsoft leading and developing for the PC, gamers and enthusiasts never had a chance. Again, it isn't Microsoft's fault - they are, as we must all finally understand, a software company and a public corporation. They had no real choice but to kill the PC - after all, there is so much more out here that requires software.

Back to my bucket...

"It echoes in here...." not akin to blinders at all, but discipline... "I'm not taking it off until I see the good in this and all things..."

"It's all a personal computer - all of it - everything is my PC... everything..." My PC; your PC; our Personal Computers... all of them are no longer limited to just one place; one box, or one room. My PC is my PC. Our Xbox is my PC, too. My Zune is my PC. My car is my PC. My business and all its servers are my PC. They are all my PC and they are all connected and what I experience is my PC. They are all one "thing" and that thing is growing. The PC isn't dead at all - it died and became a powerful heavenly being - an angel willing to serve my every need. As nostalgic as many of us might be for all the things the PC was, we ought to be incredibly excited about what the PC really is and what it will become.

The PC - the Personal Computer never was a thing at all. It was never just one place. It was all places and all things at once. It was and is the the source. The PC is all places and all things where all knowledge may be found and created and shared. In this new universal PC space, gamers and enthusiasts do matter - more than ever and it is time someone told them that every day. It is time Microsoft shared what it knew and what it knows about the new personal computer.

It is time for Microsoft to rejoin the living; forget the past; leave the case in the dust-bin of history, and show us the way forward, as your chairman once offered to do.

Games for Windows. Microsoft, make that real and kill the lines and space between the PC and Xbox and never create them again. Do the same for the marketplace and Zune - make it all "The PC"

Fix Windows Live OneCare Circle Status

admin — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 01:06:00 GMT

Windows Live OneCare as its name implies, can help keep home computers safer, running optimally and easier to use and manage.

Many families now have more than one computer and Windows Live OneCare is Microsoft's solution for home users. OneCare was the first product to add computer tuning and routine maintenance features to a security product - including disk defragmentation, disk cleanup, Windows Updates and backup utilities. Clearly, Microsoft's goal for OneCare was larger and designed to help users maintain their computers, which meant more than helping protect them from undesired software. OneCare had to help users manage the basic tasks necessary to keep a Windows computer running well - and it does. OneCare allows users to easily set up a maintenance and tuning schedule that helps keep their computers running well and free of undesired bits. OneCare set a useful trend and soon after security companies like Symantec fielded competing products like Norton 360.

Last year Microsoft added management support for more than one computer from one "HUB PC" within what it calls a OneCare Circle. It's a great idea - extend the easy to use OneCare maintenance and tuning wizard to more than one computer and run and monitor it all from one PC. Just as business and enterprise administrators manage security, computer maintenance and backup from centralized systems, Windows Live OneCare seeks to do the same for small home networks. OneCare features an easy way to add and manage up to three computers within a OneCare Circle. Member computers have a simple and clear status icon next to their computer name and text describing their status and what actions to take where they may be required. I like the idea and welcomed the ease of use, affordable cost, and efficiency driving the design.

Just as with many business and enterprise security and maintenance applications suites, the Windows Live OneCare Circle has had some teething pains and its share of problems. We've seen our share of such problems and recently I noted that the status of computers within our OneCare Circle were incorrectly reporting that action was required. Randomly, two connected member computers within the circle would reflect that they needed action. When the connected computer was inspected it was discovered that the local OneCare client program was running normally and each reflected a green status icon. All three computers could see one another on the network and all ran normally; all three systems were up to date and connected to the Internet.

A quick reboot of the HUB-PC did not solve the problem. Removing a member PC from the circle and adding it back again solved the problem temporarily, but the same issue appeared a day later. Removing and adding back a second member computer produced the same behavior and the OneCare Circle status, while clean and green at each member PC, continued to report that action was required at the HUB-PC's OneCare management console. With all three member computers individually reporting a green status, the problem had to be related to how the HUB-PC receives information and status updates from the service... but which one?

Since each member computer individually communicates its status (this applies to licensing, subscription status and state) over the Internet, and in each case, all reported a green status, it was more likely that the HUB-PC was either not receiving reported status updates, or it was not able to pass the information from the system to the OneCare Circle. Microsoft's documentation recommended restarting the service, which was done, but had no affect. Then it struck me... there is a relationship between OneCare and any security suite's processes and the Windows Security Center and its service. The Security Center service is a Windows Local System Service that is set to delayed start. A delayed start provides monitored processes enough time to start normally before they begin to report their status - in this case, to the security center. OneCare, like most security suites, uses this service - though in OneCare's case, monitoring actions and settings are executed from within the application, instead of at the security center itself.

Given how OneCare works with the Security Center, it seemed possible that it had not reported member computers' status either in time, or accurately. One would think that a system restart would have solved this, but then another thought occurred to me... the host, or HUB-PC used to manage our OneCare Circle is a Windows Vista Ultimate computer and Ultimate uses secure startup, or CornerStone technologies. Secure Startup isolates a computer during start up and shut down and prevents access to the system as security software covering network interfaces comes on-line. While not confirmed, its seemed possible that secure startup was preventing OneCare from receiving information from the security center... one way to find out... bump the security center service and observe for results.

By going to the Windows Vista Start button and typing services into the Instant Search window, it was easy enough to find the services management console snap-in and save a trip to the control panel's administrative tools section. Clicking on the services snap-in and opening it requires approving one UAC escalation prompt, or entering administrative user credentials. Scrolling down the list of services to the security center service is easy enough to find - for those interested, (C:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe -k LocalServiceNetworkRestricted is the path to the service, properly named: WSCSVC). To manage the service, highlight and Right-Click it and select properties. To restart it, stop it, or manually start it, or any service, right-click it and select the desired action. See figure below:

When I bumped the security center service, Windows Live OneCare's status immediately turned green on the HUB-PC used to manage our OneCare Circle and my hunt was over... I had found out what was wrong and what to do about it - it sure beats un-joining and joining member systems, or hunting for another applications suite to help me manage this small sub-circle of computers on our home network! [we have a couple of home networks and this one, MCEWG houses the media centric computers and two laptops used by some of our younger children]. While not a complete, or permanent solution, bumping the security center service on a Windows Live OneCare HUB-PC is a quick way to resolve the error in status reporting and offers home network managers a way to address the behavior without having to remove and re-add members. I'll wrap all this up and fire off an email to both the Windows and OneCare teams and perhaps they can provide a permanent solution. In the meantime, I can quit sweating system status and get back to work. It's unfortunate that the very software and features intended to make multi-PC family network managers' lives easier, sometimes makes them more difficult instead. I'm still very much in favor of the idea and OneCare and I am sure that the OneCare team will continue to improve the product. I hope this post helps other OneCare users keep their home networks and systems Clean and Green.

Windows Live OneCare awards and certifications

Windows Live OneCare Team Blog

Problem caused by Windows... "Oh Really?"

admin — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 23:18:00 GMT

I've written a great deal about how Windows Vista's Performance and Reliability tools help users understand and solve problems and how greater levels of instrumentation and error reporting are what drives Vista's now native update application. It's time to share a bit more and perhaps help Windows Vista users discover the details around the real causes for the problems and errors they encounter.

While it's nice of Microsoft to take ownership of nearly all faults users encounter while running Windows (especially Windows Vista), sometimes their willingness to blame all things on Windows doesn't quite tell the entire story and in many cases digging for the real cause of reported problems, reveals that the underlying fault doesn't have much to do with Windows at all. Errors reported as: "Problem caused by Windows" very often have little to do with the operating system directly.

While error reporting and fault information as reported to users by Windows Vista is often clear and leads to readily available solutions, sometimes the information about a reported problem isn't as immediately helpful as it could be. When a Windows Vista user goes to Control Panel, then System and views the system panel, There is a link in the lower left for Performance. This opens the Performance Information and Tools panel - a one stop, quick look at what the Windows Experience Index scores and base score is. In the lower left of the Performance Information and Tools panel is another link for Problem Reports and Solutions. Clicking this link opens a panel used to Solve problems on your computer. - the focus of this post.

QUICK TIP: Use Vista's Instant Search and simply enter the term, Problem and click the link Instant Search returns at the top of the Start menu

As you can see in the figure below, Windows has reported a problem, but it only reflects that "Windows" caused it. Pretty nebulous, but good of the operating system to step up and take the blame for the fault... BUT IS IT REALLY Windows' fault...?

When a user clicks on the reported error, "Problem caused by Windows" one most often receives a generic report and a recommendation to "Install high-priority updates from the Microsoft Update website." Well... there are a couple of things wrong with this generic error report and recommendation. I mean... what if all updates and performance patches have already been applied? and worse.. "Microsoft Update Website???" Huh? This is Windows Vista and while updates come across the web, Vista has a built-in Windows Update APPLICATION! that is part of the error reporting and response system, which automates reporting and solutions distribution. Aside from missing an important marketing opportunity opposite the benefits of using Windows Vista, the information is simply wrong.

See the image below

Rather than guess what the problem Windows thinks it has is, there is a way to drill deeper and perhaps discover what process is actually at fault. In the image above, there is a small link where users can "See related problems." Clicking that link opens another panel with greater detail about what caused Windows to record an error.

See image below

Now we're getting somewhere... In the image above, we can see that a Logitech LVPrcSrv Module has stopped working a number of times. While the added information provides a good start, Windows Vista is also reporting that there is More Information available and while most users are happy to search for LVPrcSrv, it is better to have some context... like, is it in a system file, or user space, and is it an executable, or some other file that perhaps is missing...?

By double-clicking on the line item, users are presented with a lot more information about the error. For this error, one can see that LVPrcSrv is an executable in user space and the exact application version is reflected. A quick glance around the affected system reveals that only one Logitech device is connected - a Logitech QuickCam Ultra Vision SE

See image below

Well armed with much better and more complete information about what caused the fault Windows assumed was with itself, quickly (in this case) leads to a solution from -geepers Sr. Software Engineer, QuickCam Install/Build/Configuration Team, Logitech Inc. Who states that users experiencing this error should: "Clear the check-box in MSCONFIG for the LVSrvLauncher Service and reboot the machine." I did this and it worked. No more related errors and I can still use all of the Logitech software installed on the computer.

Looking back at the Problem Reports and Solutions panel, there is one more action users should consider. Users should regularly clear their solutions and problem history - once problems have been solved, and then click the link in the upper left of the panel for "Check for new solutions." Checking for new solutions gathers up all recorded errors and sends them, without personally identifying information, to Microsoft engineers. Once a problem has been reported as few as five-hundred times, Microsoft engineers will begin to work on the problem and assist the device manufacturer, or independent software vendor as required. Periodically, solutions will be delivered to a user's computer and an alert will appear in the system tray offering access to newly discovered solutions - as reported by the automated Problem Reports and Solutions support mechanism.

See figure below

There is a lot more to the automated problem and error reporting system working under the hood in Windows Vista than is immediately evident and a lot more information than is apparent to users is available - if they dig a bit deeper. Microsoft could be clearer about how end users can access this information and I recommend BETA testers of the next version of Windows request that a comprehensive Problem Reports and Solutions Center be expanded to present and make clearer, all of the steps involved in discovering fault related information. While the classic view of the Control Panel in Windows Vista already has an icon for Problem Reports and Solutions, not all of its options are as apparent as they could be. For more seasoned Windows Vista users and certainly for trained IT/MIS professionals, Windows has always provided a wealth of error reporting information - it's just easier to access and make use of in Windows Vista. Enterprise network and systems engineers have been accessing this information for years and as such, they have been running very stable Windows computers for a long time. Windows Vista begins to leverage this data and make it available to all users of all types.

Cheers!

Lloyd

Gritty Nits - Fix Internet Explorer 7 Crashes in Vista

admin — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:19:00 GMT

A lot of you may have seen Internet Explorer crash "Internet Explorer has stopped working" when closing the browser in Windows Vista. It happens all too often and while it no longer takes the operating system out with it, it is still annoying.

There are a lot of reasons why Internet Explorer will do this, but one we have found that really stands out is Adobe's Flash Player plug-in and ActiveX [COM Client] control. Seven (7) of ten (10) IE 7 crashes I have personally seen, are related to the Flash Player plug-in.

A lot of users may see messages advising them to re-install the Flash player and many take this advice - but they don't see any relief and the plug-in continues to un-plug IE.

Fortunately, Adobe has published a less well known Flash Player removal tool and procedure that users should use and follow BEFORE they re-install the plug-in.

Please reference Adobe's Support Site, which states: (be sure to follow all instructions and take note of the files Adobe's uninstaller cannot remove)

"How to uninstall the Adobe Flash Player plug-in and ActiveX control"

Due to recent enhancements to the Adobe Flash Player installers, you can now remove the player only by using the Adobe Flash Player uninstaller. To remove Flash Player, simply download and run the appropriate uninstaller for your system using the steps below.

Download the Adobe Flash Player uninstaller:
- Windows: uninstall_flash_player.exe (162 KB) (updated 12/3/07)
  Note: If you have a Windows Flash Player uninstaller downloaded prior to December 3, 2007 on your desktop, then please delete it and download the latest version.
- Mac OS X: uninstall_flash_player_osx.dmg (278 KB) (updated 12/3/07)
- Mac OS 8.x, 9.x: uninstall_flash_player.hqx (33 KB)
Save the file to your system, choosing a location where you can find it (for example, your desktop). Macintosh users may need to open or unstuff the .hqx file.
Quit ALL running applications, including all Internet Explorer or other browser windows, AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, or other Messengers. Check the Windows system tray carefully to make certain no applications which might possibly use Flash Player are still in memory.
Run the uninstaller. This will remove Adobe Flash Player from all browsers on the system.

Note: The uninstaller cannot remove files currently in use.

If you have any instances of the player open in your web browsers, instant messaging clients, stand-alone SWFs, or projectors, then the uninstaller will complete but some files may not be deleted. If this occurs, then close all of your applications and run the uninstaller again to ensure that all files are removed.

Note: Internet Explorer users may have to reboot to clear all uninstalled Flash Player ActiveX control files. If you're not certain, select the "Show Details" button in the Flash Player uninstaller. If there are any log lines that begin with "Delete on Reboot..." then you'll need to reboot BEFORE running the Flash Player installer again.

After running Adobe's tool and following their procedure for removing left over files, we restart the computer and reinstall the Adobe Flash Player plug-in and IE 7 on Vista runs much more reliably. Of course many other plug-ins can cause IE to crash, but since Flash is so common on so many websites, it is much more likely to be encountered.

It's all about the software, stupid...

admin — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 06:11:00 GMT

It always has been...

As Bill Gates executed his last CES keynote address, I, like many people, read a few wrap-ups and my share of tech-journalist's reviews. I was bored witless - not with the keynote, but the press following it.

When they get it wrong, they get it all wrong...

Paul Thurrott really blew it, I thought. He opined that CES was well past its prime and that Mr. Gates had long worn out his welcome. He went so far as to crown Steve Jobs and Apple king and queen of the CE ball - suggesting that CES should chase Jobs and Apple in order to save itself.... from itself...from irrelevance...

I think the recent snows up north have frozen Paul's brain, or at least the part responsible for recognizing what is right in front of him.

What Paul held out was totally wrong and exactly one hundred and eighty degrees south of where consumer electronics are headed. Paul continued with his opinion that Microsoft, long the center of the CES universe, was the wrong company to anchor it - dismissing the entire event as leaderless and lacking direction.

Paul did get a few things right - namely, that CES needs leadership and it does. Well Duh! Everything needs good leadership and everyone deserves it, but that is not the focus of this piece.

What shocked me about Paul's review was well... it was written by Paul Thurrott... - the guy that has had his eyes on Microsoft for a very long time. He, above all people, should "get it" but he doesn't... or so it seems.

Ok, Paul... this one is just for you...

It's all about the software. It always has been and most certainly always will be.

Microsoft is first and foremost a software company. It always has been and always will be.

Consumer electronics, now more than ever, and certainly forever more, will be about SOFTWARE. What will make consumer electronics unique, powerful and compelling, is SOFTWARE!

My first job, at age three years, was to clean phones. Really old, and very heavy phones. They did not have any software at all and for the next 80 odd years, they remained that way - dumb as a brick.

Today, the phone is smart and one day soon, it will be brilliant. Software made it smart and it is software that will make it smarter.

A few years ago, the television set was dumb. It had no brain and it had no voice - it was receive only and it was limited. Today it is different and the television is becoming smart - very smart and software is the difference.

The same theme is playing out no matter where we look - our cars, boats, houses, even the picture frames and lights in them... yep... all getting smarter and downright social - they are all running software and the software is getting oh so smart.... playful, even.

Not many things will remain dumb. In fact, nothing dumb will survive in the CE space.

The fridge, the mailbox, even the home hot water heater, will all get a brain - even a small one is enough - enough to talk to services and the people served by them. Think not...? How many of you have asked your spouse: "Did you get the mail?" We all have. Why not just "know" if the box was full, or had been emptied, or when it was last opened - as in a moment ago, by the mail carrier...? It is possible now. It seems trivial, but it isn't - if the mailbox is smart, I bet the driveway is a genius - and it is... melting snow just as fast as it falls...

Software will do that. Software - the stuff that Microsoft makes more of than any other company on the planet.

Don't forget... Microsoft doesn't just make software - it makes the software that makes software and the software that others use to make software and the factories that make yet more software... <you get the point...>

Software will unify all things around us and present us with choices. To be human after all, is all about having choices - or it should be, in any case.

Software will provide the means for all the things in our lives to communicate with one another and with all of us. Software will allow us to control them and manage them as a useful whole - the glorious sum of all those CE parts.

Software will drive the convergence of all things - all things electronic and all things, like the old phones I used to clean, that are still dumb and destined for brilliance. Nothing will remain dumb.

With software driving everything, Microsoft is more relevant than ever and its significance as a leading company, populated with leaders at every level, will shape our world for hundreds of years.

A lot of people watching Mr. Gates speak, thought he was merely stepping through the motions of yet another address. He wasn't and he wasn't at all bored. I think Mr. Gates felt something else... that it was all inevitable - it would all play out exactly as he had seen it. It was and is, all about the software...

What's Wrong With Windows? Why Live Matters...

admin — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 22:31:00 GMT

"People don't want a waitress and a cook - people want a chef that is also a nutritionist!" - Windows Live may well be all of these...

Technically there isn't much wrong with Windows at all - it's a great operating system and it underwrites an ecosystem so vast that literally no one can speak to all of it. That makes for some tough choices for people and the potential for confusion and real customer dissatisfaction exists with greater frequency.

In very real ways, Windows provides for too many choices and too many options for people to manage well without assistance of some kind. I remember returning to the United States some years ago and visiting an average grocery store. I needed a few simple sundries is all... What a mess! I walked around in some kind of odd, stunned state of disbelief for the better part of an hour. The choices were so many and so numerous, that it was quite difficult to choose from among them. I looked for the familiar, but could not find the items I was used to from among the sea of products displayed in every category. It didn't matter what it was I searched for, either - simple stuff, like toothpaste became a quest for understanding - anything! I was miserable, laughable and pathetic. I stood back; I leaned in; I read and re-read... and read some more. "Extra" "Super" "Super Ooper Duper Extra" - where in the world is regular? I gave up and called my wife. Celestial mechanics and system components I can handle, shopping for soap...? I was done. The choices were too many. In many ways, that is what a Windows user faces when they step up to buy a personal computer and all that attends it.

As computers became commoditized and more appliance like, dollars that were available to support their personalization evaporated quicker than a cold beer at an Auburn -v Alabama game. Great sales associates became very scarce - their employers just weren't going to pay them a living wage, because our demand for cheap was just too great. The computer and related accessories shopping experience went from tough to downright miserable... and so went the user experience.

Worse... as the socialization of the web permeated even the best of sites with the best of intentions, any real help for users in public forums disintegrated into a juvenile exchange of insults and one-ups-man-ship. Useless quips and one-liners replaced thoughtful help and mature exchanges between people in need and those trying to offer effective assistance. These days few helpful user posts survive even a few hours before they are lost in the wake of those motoring around in one hate-boat after another. So much of what the personal computing experience could be, is simply lost, or never discovered and it's damn sad - for regular users.

Windows and its ecosystem aren't the real problem. Bellying up to the massive food-bar that the ecosystem presents sure can be. The Windows ecosystem is so vast and so diverse that for many users it is like being wheeled up to a global buffet blindfolded and told to begin eating. Once the blindfold is removed, the regular computer user is left to interpret the warm gray hairy thing in front of them - only later to realize from some distance that what they are being asked to bite into is an elephant - a really big one! Many users are left to ponder what to do next and there are few good sources to help them along the way. Microsoft Partners and large OEM's are there to some extent, but the pressures they face economically, have severely restricted their ability to support users in meaningful ways. Closing off the ecosystem would be a disaster and that isn't an option - I mean, the idea that "it all just works" is usually true only when the what of what works is defined by someone else [as Apple does] and that just isn't personal - it's one man's idea of what personal is.

Small builders could be the answer, but like our own company, we just can't handle the volume needed to address all concerns and frankly, small builders and integrators don't want to address all concerns.

So what is one to do?

Windows Live may be the answer to a lot of the challenges I have addressed above. Live, not so much for what it currently is, but for what it could be, might just be the binder that users are looking for - connecting them to the larger Windows ecosystem in ways that haven't even been thought of.

What Google and Apple do not seem to appreciate as well as Microsoft does...

I'm a betting man, but I don't gamble. [true of a lot of business owners]. I bet the proverbial farm all the time. So far, we've kept the farm and kept it growing. I'm betting that Microsoft and Windows Live will continue to extend the Live platform to developers - along with appropriate tools and solid API's specifically designed to help partners and users push the Windows platform beyond the desktop and themselves, and open it up for initiatives and people of every skill level and need. This process is already off to a great start over at Windows Live Dev and I assess it will only get better - a lot better and really quickly. A cursory glance at the service API's reveals that a whole lot of work has and is being done by the Live team. See the Live Web Services Poster.

I always said that the most exciting and important thing about Windows Vista was not to be found among its features, but by how it was developed and what people would do with it - obviously, the most exciting things and greatest innovations will come from developers building for the platform - be they from Microsoft, or elsewhere in its ecosystem.

From what I see and have used, it is more than clear to me that Live is the glue that will bind users with developers in ways never before possible. It is equally clear that very soon, nearly all personal computer users will be developers themselves - self-service applications tools aside, regular users will author great applications and mash-ups with tools and utilities added by the tens of thousands.

I am betting that Windows Live Web Services and all the devs that use the service API's will be what advances not just the personal computing platform and Windows, but the billion-plus users that work and play on it each and every day. The platform some of us understand <sort of...> and all of us know as Windows, is really in its very first few days of life. It will grow in size and scope beyond what even the most visionary can now imagine.

When I think of all the press around Google and Apple and I look at the platform side by side with Windows Live Web Services and their API's, I laugh - out loud. How can they all always get it so wrong and one man and one company always get it so right...?

Trust me on one thing: what we think Windows is, is hardly the beginning. It's currently just a compass, where what it will become one day will seem much more like a military grade GPS.

If this is the world that Bill Gates saw from the beginning, he's got to be one very underestimated man and scary smart in ways that even smart people can't fully comprehend.

The Case FOR and AGAINST Windows Vista

admin — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 19:01:00 GMT

Did you ever wish you were wrong? I mean, really wrong?

When BETA 2 for Windows ~~Longhorn~~ Vista shipped, I installed it as I had many previous development and testing versions of the new operating system. I wrote, and crazily so, that Vista was going to be a monumental flop in terms of how it was perceived by people. Many people who know me well, thought I was way over the top - being dramatic, even... I wrote about how Vista was going to be perceived (very badly) and misunderstood and largely ignored. I worried terribly that the fall-out on all of us that build and support computers and the software that runs on them, would be profound.

Boy, I wish I were wrong.

A little under a year after the general public release of Windows Vista, and despite unprecedented improvement and driver coverage, Windows Vista is indeed perceived as bad. That doesn't just suck for Microsoft - it sucks for Microsoft partners (a little), and it really sucks for users of Windows (there is so much users are missing when they don't run Vista). There is the reality of Windows Vista that is (GREAT) and what the perception about its performance and value is (TERRIBLE).

In June of 2006 I wrote (blabbered, really) about how horrid the end user experience was going to be under Windows Vista - not because the operating system was BAD, or looked BAD, but because so much had been scattered to hell and back. I also wrote about how many people were going to expect to be able to run Vista on hardware that they had upgraded from Windows 98 SE, or Windows Me to Windows XP, and how that simply was not going to work well. Worse, so much of what makes Windows Vista not just good, but GREAT and truly INNOVATIVE, is completely transparent to end users, or so technically oriented, it just isn't appealing for users to read about - see, Top Ten Things I Love About Windows Vista

Recently, I think I found why Windows Vista has really had a tough time of it in the technical perception department and it is pretty clear to me, what is really wrong with the lineup that is Windows Vista, and it has zip to do with how well it performs, or doesn't as many suggest - it has to do with how much of let down Windows Vista Business edition is [it just isn't as feature complete as Windows XP Professional is in relative terms (to XP Home)]. Simply, the expectation that Vista Business is all that Vista Home Premium is, plus a lot more (BUSINESS) - like XP Pro over XP Home WAS (just isn't so).

OK, so small business users have to run Windows Vista Ultimate (I don't recommend any other version for most business owners and mobile users). One problem is that they have to pay more (OK, they get SOME more, but not enough to justify the greater cost).

That's it - that is all that is bad with Windows Vista - the lineup as it relates to the business version. BUT.... that's not the perception at all - that is FAR WORSE...

It seems that none of that matters much... PERCEPTION, as it always has been, is the REALITY people embrace, and people, (regular users), are the real losers.

THE REALITY of Windows Vista has been different for me, and our customers. Windows Vista has not been just good, it has been GREAT. I knew it would be, but sadly, I also knew it wouldn't be seen for what it was. Before I go further, let me be clear about one very important thing: "IF WINDOWS VISTA WERE BAD (TRULY BAD), I WOULDN'T SELL IT, OR RECOMMEND IT!" PERIOD. One, I wouldn't lie about it and two, I COULDN'T AFFORD TO SUPPORT IT. As a small tech business owner and operator, if Windows Vista weren't great, my business could not afford to sell it - much less live with it. Please see, Windows Vista - The Most Reliable Operating System I have Ever Used

As the year known as 2007 comes to a close, it isn't going to be remembered as the year of Windows Vista - part of it will be remembered as the year negative perceptions trumped reality. People wanted failures, it seems, and there have been no shortage of people to tell them where they are. Vista has been at the top of many lists relating to technology failures.

WHY?

That one is easy... "people are people" - a few are nice and truly so, but sadly, many are pretty mean way down deep (where it matters a lot). People are also tired; they are jaded and they have become very accustomed to expecting, even looking for, the bad in all things. People have been fed a steady diet of bad news, or the bad side of news... as is so often the case. BAD Vista, (just an operating system) and the perception around it, is just one more example. The war, politics, and rivers of hate - they are all to blame - all part of the unending flow of negative thought and energy spewing forth from just about every news and media outlet.

The eighties were the "Me Generation" - the nineties, the "Age of Political Correctness" - the 00's, they are just plain olé mean - "The Age of Meanness." Vista isn't going to get a pass, and neither are you.

So why did Vista (just another operating system) get caught up in the age of meanness? People are people and sadly, most are pretty stupid - not natively, or inherently so, but because being stupid is just easier. It's far easier to parrot what a blogger says than it is to learn and form one's own opinion - it's easier to just stay right where one is, than it is to venture out into something new. How many people are "stuck in a rut?" How few will do anything about it? In the age of meanness it is almost bad form to try - after all, what if one were to succeed and obviate the impact of change... what would be left to complain about? We're all mean now and happy for it. When all else fails... be mean... that solves every challenge. Being mean is the new "tough" - they new word for strong. Kindness? Well no way, buddy... that is the new word for insincere, or better, "weak."

There really is not one thing wrong with Microsoft's marketing of Vista. The marketing has been honest and decent. The problem is that Microsoft's marketing has been just that, "Honest and Decent" and that just does not fly in the age of meanness. Apple's marketing is successful, because it is all at the expense of the hapless, stupid, chubby, unattractive dolts that it labels Windows users to be. Apple's marketing is not honest and its not decent, but it is mean and mean is cool. There are many that would argue that what I am saying is just bull - just an old man's aged and tired rant. I bet, despite my years, that I could still kick the living piss out of any nine of ten of them [all at once] (mean enough for ya?). One side, the nice side, just doesn't have any appeal any longer - but oh boy, the mean snarky side, well... these days that just drips sex appeal and people line up for it.

Let's take some examples of what I mean and in the context of Windows Vista:

TRUTH: Windows Vista uses "Instant Search" - a feature that allows users to nearly instantly find programs, documents, emails and other files on their computers and other indexed locations.

CONSEQUENCES: Instant Search chews disk I/O for about a minute, or three [but not more] when Windows first starts.

PERCEPTION: Vista sux0rs giant root, because it is slower to make programs available for users than XP - XP FTW!

REALITY: In practice, Vista is way better than XP and users of it are way more productive, BECAUSE once it does load, Instant Search is well, INSTANT and users don't spend nearly as much time hunting around for stuff! Further, and what is not reported, or spoken to, is that despite the two minutes longer Vista takes to fully load, the user saves ten times that time in an average session, because they can find things INSTANTLY.

Op Ed: "READ THE REALITY SECTION ABOVE AGAIN, DUMB ASS!" (see, I'm being mean... er... tough.... and that is really cool, huh?)

Of course that is not what is being held out, is it? That is not what is being written about, is it?

TRUTH: Windows Vista has an integrity mechanism that features User Account Control [UAC], which works to restrict and control processes to user named space and subjects access to user approval. The integrity mechanism and all the features inherent to it, have made Windows Vista a very secure operating system and very difficult to compromise.

CONSEQUENCES: Windows Vista users can't just next, next, next their way through life - they have to think for a moment and make a decision.

PERCEPTION: Windows Vista's persistent pop-ups will drive users crazy.

REALITY: Windows Vista users rarely see UAC Elevation Prompts and when they do, the prompts take a half second to assess and approve. Users needn't enter passwords if they do not want to - they can simply click to approve the elevation (as when they install software). Once a user has a Vista computer set up to their own tastes, they very rarely see UAC Elevations. UAC and applications which work according to least privileged access permissions, really have made Windows more secure and safer to use.

I could go on and on and on, with one example after another about what truly does make Windows Vista great - the examples number in the hundreds.... BUT... it won't change a thing - not for regular users. For my customers, there is no concern, or any reason to read this blog - they are already, and always have been cared for and they already know they truth. Vista is great and there are nice people working to make using it a great experience. People who are nice as well as effective.

The rest are missing out and stuck in a very dark place that can't be much fun to be in. I worry about them, and what I worry about doesn't have a thing to do with Windows Vista (it's just an operating system).

"what, you expected journalism...?" "I just call em as I see em"

Service Pacitus

admin — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 04:42:00 GMT

Many of you no doubt have the same disease, or at least a few of the symptoms.. Service Packs of about every shape and form are appearing for a great many Microsoft products [a good thing, for sure], and like us, you're running more than a few in testing and perhaps some in production. Obviously, the RC's have to be tested and this can result in a serious case of the service pack runs... On occasion, and despite how evolved most service packs have become, we still run into unexpected - even surprising, challenges. Read on...

It's all part of it - the normal work many of us do. I'm not going to even try to match the coverage going on out there regarding most of them, but if you're running ESET NOD32 Antivirus, you may want to pay attention to the next few lines. There is definitely some dependent process between ESET NOD32 build 3.0.566 and Service Pack 1 to Windows Vista Ultimate and Office 2007 with SP1, that are not working well together.

Parts and Builds

Software Common to both test systems:

Windows Vista Ultimate 32 bit with SP1 RC Build 6001
Microsoft Office 2007 Professional with Service Pack 1
ESET NOD32 3.0.566

Test System 1

P4 3.2 GHz based HP Laptop NX9600
2 GB RAM
ATI X600 GPU 128 MB

Test System 2

Pentium Dual Core 3.2 GHz
2 GB RAM
Nvidia 8800 GTS 768 MB GPU

Both test systems received all updates and service pack 1 to Office 2007 normally.

Both test systems had earlier versions of ESET NOD32 antivirus removed prior to the installation of Windows Vista Service Pack 1

Both test system had ESET NOD32 reinstalled after Vista Service Pack 1 was installed and the systems were restarted.

Both systems restarted and ran normally - with one major exception:

Word 2007 would not open and would hang both systems - forcing a hard shutdown.

Removing ESET NOD32 antivirus solved the problem and Word 2007 and all other applications ran normally under the combination of Vista SP1 RC, Office 2007 SP1.

Windows Live OneCare was then deployed across both systems and all processes and applications run normally.

No adjustment available to ESET NOD32 [excluding WINWORD.EXE for example], would allow the security suite to run alongside the combination of Office 2007 SP1 and Vista SP1 RC.

Oddly, only Word 2007 with Office 2007 SP1 is affected - all other Office 2007 applications run normally.

Older builds of ESET NOD32 antivirus have worked normally and Word 2007 with Service Pack 1 on Vista with SP1 RC run normally.

Communications have been prepared for both Microsoft and ESET Software, and advising of our test results.

And that was only one little item making up a long, and productive day.

I'll post an update when new builds are available.

Cheers!

Lloyd

Reviewing Reviewers

admin — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 23:51:00 GMT

Most Microsoft software reviews suck serious ass. There's no other way to describe the crap that passes for reviews.

Far too many bloggers' reviews are based upon VM derived impressions of the software displayed. A few screen shots are added to well known lists of features and a touch of flowery language is added to what ends up being a half-assed representation of what the software truly is, or can do [or not as might be the case].

I have avoided providing reviews, because I am not a professional blogger and certainly not any kind of journalist - not even a really bad one.

I am an engineer and small business owner that builds and sustains systems, networks, software and the hosted services that tie them together - so any review would be based upon an actual build, and that often would reveal either my own, or a real customer's information. I can't do that - even a little - not without permission and some controls designed to protect people. This makes it harder to provide reviews, but not impossible.

It does strike me as badly needed, however, and I am determined to find a way to share real reviews - not just about the smaller software picture, but the larger impact found in how and why software is integrated and how it benefits people and business.

I'm pretty tired of tired reviews. They don't offer much worth reading and those sites that are great, don't get enough attention - I don't know why, but outside of the specific engineering groups around Microsoft Products like Exchange and ISA Server, there isn't a lot of play. I think that needs to change. Regular people need to know more about these products and how they integrate and what they mean - in the context that is most oriented toward them. After all, they are the ones likely to be making purchasing decisions about such products.

Let me know which products you'd like reviewed and why - I'd be interested in understanding what decisions and business challenges you're trying to address. That will help me pick which products to review.

I promise one thing: anything I review will be something we use ourselves and I'll share the how and why of it.

Cheers!

Lloyd

Skewered by the SKU

admin — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 20:30:00 GMT

Perhaps too much has been written about the number and type of SKU's Microsoft released for Windows Vista - so why I am adding to the din now...

Many attempted to explain why the larger number of available SKU's was bad, or what one would be trading up or down, by selecting one version of Windows Vista over another. There were version lists; features tables and matrices, with little check boxes denoting what version came with what and for what price, but no one has addressed why the Windows Vista SKU lineup continues to frustrate and disappoint consumers, partners and OEM's. None of the major news outlets seemed to understand why one version of Vista over another was good, or bad, much less appropriate. Most professional bloggers stuck to the same old mantra about how confusing so many SKU's were - none reflected what was wrong with any one SKU, or the line.

There has to be one main reason, right?

From where I sit, all versions of Windows Vista are the same... every machine I build ships with one version, Ultimate. We are an Ultimate only shop. When we first began to build computers and networks featuring Windows Vista we started off using Vista Business where we thought it was appropriate, but we soon found ourselves reaching out for features that were not there and having to turn to third-party software solutions to fill in the blanks. That cost us money we had not planned on spending [better to hack us off, than anger a customer].

Very soon after, we adopted a policy of Windows Vista Ultimate ONLY. I think the reasons why we became a Vista Ultimate only shop may help people understand what to expect from Vista's different SKU's and drive many to the same conclusions we arrived at.

First off, the Windows Vista Home Premium SKU is fine - it is the only SKU that is consistent with Microsoft's previous marketing and product segmentation; however, it is entirely inappropriate for business - even very small businesses. Home Premium is what Windows XP Media Center Edition devolved to <eventually>. When first introduced, Windows XP Media Center Edition was a super-set of Windows XP Professional; domain join was possible, as was Remote Desktop, and all other business related features. Once Media Center was attached to Windows XP Home Edition, the SKU lost all that made it a candidate for small business people. Take note: Windows Vista Home Premium does have one big limitation and difference from its older XP cousin, it can no longer see domain resources at all - not only can it not join a domain [as designed] it cannot even see them - domain resources cannot be mapped from Home Premium at all.

Enough about the only version of Windows Vista that in terms of marketing, remains familiar and somewhat consistent with the past.

The real pooper in the Windows Vista lineup is the business edition. Sure, it can join domains, see network shares, and it supports group policies. All good - all terribly necessary and all just as boring to consumers as they ever were. Windows Vista Business is the dud of the bunch. You see, previously, Windows XP Professional was everything that Windows XP Home was - just a lot more, and the first great Media Centers were everything both Home and Professional were - the consumer got a lot, and partners and integrators had all they needed. The problem with Windows Vista's lineup and perhaps explaining its slower sales and rate of adoption, is just how bad the business version is. People are familiar with what they had. If they had XP Professional, they had it all - all that was in XP Home, plus all they needed for work. Now that is no longer the case.

Back to business...

As I said, we first tried to deploy Windows Vista Business and very quickly started taking calls from customers about what was missing... The biggest? "Where's the burn button?" <the small disk burning access button visible in Home Premium and Ultimate editions of Vista> - hint... it isn't there in Windows Vista Business. Doesn't seem like much, but when you have to deploy third party utilities to make up the difference, it can be and similarly, when customers have one expectation and they are met with a different reality, they get upset.

So very simply, Windows Vista Business editions are not like XP Professional - they do not have all that previous home editions had, plus all that business people need - they, like Home Premium, are less than they used to be.

Focus on that last line for a moment.... similarly marketed versions of Vista feature less than they used to?

Now, if I were ever to join the rank and file of my local Windows Vista Sux0r user group, it would be as a result of not how bad Vista is in general, but because of how bad Vista Business is. Windows Vista Business leaves a small business person and their Microsoft Partner with only one choice: Ultimate, and a lot more money that will have to be spent.

There are problems with Windows Vista - and they start with what the business edition isn't any longer and how much more one has to spend to get what they once had with greater clarity.

Community Site Development

admin — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:33:00 GMT

Few things are more important than community - family is one.

Neither is served well if where we live looks like ass <thanks, Shannon - I still love that phrase>.

We've been busy the last year or so, but we always have made time for charities and "community"

One community that I really respect and admire is the technology and news community over at ActiveWin - www.activewin.com

I liked their people - young men that "Do Stuff"

I like some of their regulars, TechLarry - a Navy Vet and a personality one can just tell is a decent man you'd welcome as a friend. Then there is Fritzly - he's got to be a good engineer and out-of-the-box thinker - always looking forward to what is next. There are guys there like mooresa and Parker - who are smart and consistent and determined.

All just members of a community.

To help that community - one of many virtual and real communities we support, we started and continue to develop for them. We don't charge any fees, because building community isn't about money - it's about caring for people around us.

I thought it was time we posted a few shots of what we have been up to for this community - where it matters a lot - the presentations layer. Below are just a few of the dozens of designs we worked on and the one I like the most. It is "sharp" and "clean" but dripping with subtle hints at what is underneath.

The site is fully end-user customizable. Each component is a small application unto itself and all run as an RIA, as well as "in" the browser. In fact, one can grab any one component and sling it around the desktop as fast as a bullet - it's fun to do and fun to watch - like a virtual tennis ball.

I'll share more on that and how we did it as we move to launch, but for now... let me know what you think of the designs.

Vista's Asshats!

admin — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 18:54:00 GMT

In the context of Windows Vista, an "Asshat" is a person who steals the operating system, uses it illegally, never patches it - ever, and then complains about it endlessly and publicly.

There are of course, degrees of Asshat-edness, orders, if you will... I'll get to the order of the asshat in a moment...

Since Asshats steal Vista and do not pass Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) validations, they never patch the operating system. Asshats never apply new drivers, or performance and reliability updates - they just ***, piss, moan, whine and complain about how poorly Windows Vista runs on the hardware they manage to scrape together.

Asshats vigorously attack Windows Vista in public forums and viciously assail any user of Vista who so much as likes the new operating system. Microsoft Partners are not business people in the minds of asshats, they are shills - mindlessly supporting Microsoft's domination of the world.

Typical Asshat behaviors include:

Asshats hate
Asshats lie
Asshats cheat
Asshats steal
Asshats tolerate others that do as they do

An average asshat will declare anything coming from Microsoft as evil - all while they continue to use stolen copies of the company's software.

Be careful... some asshats are smart people - clever and they confuse by intent.

Many asshats have junior asshats as friends - lesser asshats within an order of asshats. Some asshats are clever enough to hide the true depth of their asshat-edness. These are especially dangerous as they appear harmless and they are very subtle - but asshats just the same.

Asshats come in many forms, but they are most often single Caucasian males with "members" that more closely resemble a child's thumb rather than anything of interest to a woman. Asshats have a great deal of time <because they rarely work> that they use to talk about how much they hate Windows Vista and Microsoft, Republicans, The United States, and its President, George W. Bush <you see, in the mind of an asshat, they are all the same, and all equally bad>. To an asshat a cigar is never just a cigar and shoes rarely have laces in them.

Asshats swear that Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista is the end all and should have shipped when the operating system first entered production - they'll steal a copy of Vista SP1, too, and then declare any law abiding user a liar who had been applying performance and reliability patches all along, and had a great Windows Vista experience. To an asshat, Microsoft Partners, OEM's and Systems Builders that design systems, sell legal copies of the operating system and work like mad to make a great Vista based computer, are all liars, sellouts and "Microbots."

Some asshats are uber clever - they host radio and podcast shows and very carefully select and place words along a path of leading questions - all designed to cast doubt on the value and benefits inherent to Windows Vista. Most asshats however, are just blunt instruments without much imagination, skill, or purpose.

To help people identify various types of asshats, I have prepared a list under the order of the asshat - my own opinion about what makes an asshat... well... an asshat...

The Order of the Asshat

Chief Asshats - they are masters of all above
General Asshats - these actively bomb Windows related forums with useless drivel
Stupid Asshats - forum trolls that could not write or spell their way out of a wet sack
Freaking Asshats - *Nix fanatics that run Windows, but claim to know and only use a Linuces distribution
Able Asshats - *nix fanatics that really do use a Linuces, or Unices, but steal restricted packages to run proprietary software designed to make their *nix machine about half as useful as a Windows PC
Apple Asshats - these guys actually believe that spotlight didn't suck and didn't come "after" Microsoft's Instant Search was demonstrated and Windows Search shipped years ahead of it.
OSS/FOSS Asshats - these guys don't really use open source software, and they don't know Microsoft is the best open source developer there is
Smarmy Asshats - these are oily little men that only view software from the limited perspective of the client computer - they ignore servers, services and related software
Blogging Asshats - these are pseudo journalists that installed Windows Vista long enough to *** about it
Convicted Asshats - these are special asshats that insist, that no matter the evidence presented, that no one can run Vista well at all

So there you have it - my description of what an Asshat is and what they do <not much at all>. Asshats are all over the web - you'll find them in every Windows forum and news site - all greased up and ready to take on the world.

You'll know when you come across an asshat - your skin will break out in a rash and the taste of vomit will be unmistakable in the back of your throat. Avoid them if you can; ignore them if at all possible, but if you can't, add your own asshat examples here.

Asshat encounters...it's enough to make a guy actually like WGA validations...

The Wild Wild Web

admin — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:45:00 GMT

The World Wide Web is a reflection of who and what we are and it isn't always an attractive image.

Increasingly, the web not only reflects the worst in man, it seems to be inviting it. Hiding behind apparent anonymity and gross corruption of the liberties afforded people by laws protecting expression - like the United States' First Amendment to its Constitution, people, say and do some terribly hurtful things - intentionally.

Removed of the "I'll bust you in your fat mouth" consequences attending face to face confrontations, people feel free to share whatever base thoughts that enter their heads.

Participating in public forums [pausing for a moment to reflect on how appropriate the term public forum seems when it conjures thoughts of well used public restrooms...] is a challenge for any person intending to share anything good of themselves. Avoiding being shaped negatively by the experience can be very tough.

Recently, I withdrew from a public forum I had supported for many years. In that forum, I sought to share good information and perhaps elevate the quality of discourse by simply not participating in exchanges that were hurtful, or those which offered no value.

How I supported that community deserves some definition. I paid for it - its servers, its hosting, its protection and its future. When its owners' server failed, I donated the parts and labor to fix it, while hosting the site temporarily on one of my own, in one of my centers. When FedEx, whom I had paid to ship the repaired server, broke it, I built a brand new one for its owners at my own expense. When hackers from Brazil attacked the site's ancient code, I built an applications firewall to stop them and bought a commercial variant for them. When its database, an aged example of how not to build a database, failed, I fixed it - more times than I can count. When the owners' email services failed, I provided free hosted Exchange services with all the trimmings - commercial anti-spam and anti-malware services and as many accounts and aliases as were needed. When the site, older than most, needed updating, I began development on a new site - again, for free. The list goes on and on... in other words, I supported the community in real ways - an obligation I felt necessary if one were to set a good example, and it was that example that I hoped would shape the forum for the better - it didn't work and I failed.

No matter what effort was applied, it wasn't enough. The forum, like so much of the web, descended into chaos and heated exchanges taking on the all too familiar divisive themes so prevalent in our modern societies. Instead of shaping it, the forum and a lot of negative energy began to shape me - making me angry, frustrated and unhappy.

It isn't that life is too short for that kind of thing, it is that life is too valuable and too precious to allow oneself to be so negatively impacted by something that should be fun, informative and entertaining.

At this point most people would pay perfunctory lip service to how much good the web has to offer, but I'm not going to. I started using and developing for the web and Internet before it existed commercially and I remember well what it was before it became a public pool - it was a better place; a nice neighborhood where tidy little homes lined its streets and it was inhabited by a gentle and kind people who were devoted to public service. Exposed to politics, vice, hate and spleen, the web has become something to approach with caution and a good football helmet.

The web is wild but there is no one to bust. When I was young, more decades past than most middle aged people can count, men were men. We made mistakes and when we took a poke to the snout for speaking out of turn, we knew we had it coming. We apologized for being "heels" and the offense was forgotten - truly. We didn't even hit back, because, we knew we deserved to be set straight. In many ways we felt better for having been handed a "sock" - we'd taken our pill and could move on. As we grew, we did the same - when a young man acted a fool, we were obliged to set him right - even if it meant we had to bloody his nose in the process. We didn't beat one another, we reminded one another - what was right and what was wrong and what would fly and what would not. When we were wrong, we faced it.

The web does not provide for that and "banning" is the virtual equivalent of backing down - something no man would ever do. Honor meant more than life - especially your own.

I'm not going to pretend to know the answers. I don't have any. I don't think the web is going to get any better and in fact, it is likely going to get worse.

I thought I would have learned my own lessons - about not being able to change much. Having soldiered longer than most people live, I used to think that I could make the world a better place. I was wrong and failed at that, too. What I did learn was that I could make the tiny world around me a better place. At that I did succeed at and my little company is a force for good - a nice neighborhood with tidy little homes and gentle people devoted to one another.

So as before, that is what I am going to do - make the tiny part of the world wide web around me a better place, and what I devoted to the public forums I once supported, I will publish here.

Guests will always be welcome, but they will be expected to act like guests in my home.

This space I can control and shape to some measure of good.

Hardware as a Service - Selling a Lifestyle

admin — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 20:04:00 GMT

Selling a lifestyle that includes and uses personal computers, provides that computers are delivered as turn-key companions that are connected to a wide range of secure-only communications, personal and team productivity and entertainment services. Hardware as a Service [HasS] based computers are continually connected to proactive service, support and access to solutions which include specific solutions to business and personal information needs. HaaS based systems that underwrite a lifestyle that fully leverages digital technologies, sustain a connection between participants in such a lifestyle and those facilitating it - the computers and their networks simply provide the means, the points of access and the vehicles used. Windows Vista, and the ecosystem that Microsoft has built around it, provides the basis for building HaaS based computers. Apple doesn't and can't. Sun doesn't and can't. IBM doesn't and chose not to. Linux copies and may yet deliver the service.

I get asked a lot of questions and a lot of the questions I get asked are about how to grow a business where there is intense competition and little money available to communicate how a company's products and services are different. Marketing. It has a bad name and for the most part, it deserves it. So often marketing is used to share what might be, or should be rather than what is. Many companies are worried that a marketing campaign won't produce results and won't produce increased sales. Businesses are right to worry, but for the wrong reasons. The marketing isn't necessarily wrong, the products and services are. That's a tough bit of news for many companies to even begin to consider. To be fair, I asked myself the same questions about my own company and I embraced the answers about what we were doing and what follows below, is what we did to make a change - not only in our products, but across our entire approach to business in the technology sector.

Let's look at the personal computer as an example and not how to market it, but what to market - and that drives not the sale of computers, but the delivery and sale of hardware as a service [HaaS] - The Selling of a Lifestyle, which does result in the sale of computers.

For too long, the personal computer has been sold as an appliance and a commodity. The personal computer has been defined by its features, components and its price and none are apparently unique, compelling, or in any way personal. In so many cases, personal computers have evolved in negative ways - they have appeared to be less than secure - no matter what one does to secure them. They have devolved from intensely personal to intensely impersonal, ubiquitous appliances that frustrate as often as they serve.

For nearly as long, service in the context of the personal computer has been relegated to the lowest of priorities and treated as an event and cost that is best avoided and a necessary evil that leaves all involved with a bad taste in their mouths. Computer manufacturers have pushed service out and down to levels that rarely produce positive results - much less a well running computer.

Personal Computing is not about the machine - it is about the person!

The first thing we did was re-focus our attention on the person - the individual using the machine - the why of it and how they relate to others - be they people, or businesses and personal processes. We looked at every user we had. We looked at ourselves. We looked at what they did and what we did and we looked at what they needed and what caused them grief. We looked for all the friction - all the data points where there were collisions, slow-downs, and choke-points. Users, not competitor specifications, drove our products. We reasoned that if we extended the personal computer beyond its specifications and features, and into how it was used, integrated and sustained, that we'd end up producing a far better machine - regardless of what it looked like, or what features it had, or didn't.

By focusing on the person as both an individual and a member of not one, but many organizations and teams, we began to deliver not just computers, but intensely personal experiences - we had invited customers into a lifestyle where relevant information simply exists, or may be had in a few moments - we had brought customers into how we work and live. We had simply shared what we were doing and enjoying. This people centric focus opposite designing and building computers bought us time - time to develop new and more appealing products and new and more powerful services to connect them to. Profits and time were pumped back into not just systems, but the users who had joined us. The lifestyle we had invited customers into continued to grow in both richness and power. The results are computers that are companions and reflections of the people and lifestyles they are and lead. Personal computers are expressions, therefore - of the aspiring creature that owns and operates them.

People who use computers have things they want, but also things they do not want!

The lifestyle, enriched by Hardware as a Service [HaaS] has to be nearly as much about what it is not, as it is. People want email. People do not want SPAM. Period. People do want access to files. People do not want those files to be compromised or infested with mal-ware. Period. People want to freely exchange information and ideas. People do not want those ideas shared, or known to other than those of their own choosing. People want to be secure, but people do not want to feel caged, or limited or isolated. People want to feel as though they are accompanied - they do not want to feel dependent, or vulnerable.

Combining what computer users want and need with what they do not

Again, let's take a personal computer and to it we'll add what users want and take away from it what they do not want - then we'll deliver it and in the next segment, we'll define what one can do with it.

A personal computer nearly always ships with a mail client. End of story. The user is cast adrift and left to their own ends.

Let's take this one example and examine it as we deliver a HaaS based personal computer. We'll assume the computer owner is a member of a small company or organization of some kind.

A HaaS based personal computer has a mail client, too... BUT said mail client is securely connected to a hosted Exchange using Outlook Anywhere and sustains an RPC over HTTPS connection.

The user's system and email are delivered fully configured and ready for immediate use. All mail items, contacts, calendar items and tasks are exactly and fully migrated for them.

The user's email, contacts, calendar items, tasks and notes are always the same - no matter how many devices are connected and no matter where the user and said devices are located.

The user's email is always secure and only encrypted connections are ever allowed to its host network and servers.

The user's email is unlimited - no storage limits apply.

The user may have as many calendars and contacts as they wish and each of these is instantly synchronized with the user's phone.

The user's phone is set up for them and like its parent email, it is secure-only.

The user's mobile email is "Direct Push" enabled and arrives at the user's phone the moment it is received - no on and or off-line, or tethered sync'ing are ever required.

The user's mail account either never, or very rarely receives any SPAM messages at any time, and equally, the user rarely, if ever experiences a false positive.

All user anti-SPAM controls are granular and easy for the user to manage and apply personal settings.

All user email traffic is scanned and filtered for malicious traffic at least four times. No malicious traffic is allowed to reach the user's email account and or supporting systems.

After a period of approximately five (5) days, no SPAM is ever seen by the user - not even in default Junk E-Mail folders.

As new threats emerge, the user is required to take no action of any kind. Dedicated engineers and partners continually monitor and adjust systems in response to threats and threat trends.

Commercial Anti-Mal-Ware software is included with the delivered computer and is updated for the life of the computer [where EOL is assumed to be four full years from the date of purchase].

All mail items, calendars of unlimited numbers and contacts are continuously synchronized with online, secure-only Extranets.

The user, at a click, may connect and sustain a synchronized calendar created in Outlook, or an Extranet with the other.

Any calendar may be shared.

Any contacts list may be shared.

Custom Address Lists, [OL] and domains are supported.

Corresponding UCC SSL Certificates are supplied for the user and the company, or organization.

Any related document, and or document library may be shared with any other authorized user and users may be found from a common, searchable directory, which may be added to by the user.

The user's email is either, or may be [depending upon which phone system they use], fully integrated with Video, Voice and Data.

A secure-only Instant Messaging Client is included and provides immediate access to support engineers.

All of the user's email may be subject to whatever retention policies his company, or organization specifies.

All the user's email is backed up each day and may be recovered - this applies to any single item, or any group of them.

When the user needs assistance, the user may call one number and speak directly with the engineers who built the personal computer by hand and who built and support the servers delivering and sustaining mail.

The user may share the personal computer's desktop with remote engineers - regardless of network and without making adjustments to local or other firewalls.

The user may call any time of day or night and be cared for by the people who designed the computer - not some distant, or removed technician.

When the computer is delivered, the user is provided one on one training by the engineer that built and configured it.

Once deployed, the user is accompanied by the engineer throughout the life of the computer and the engineer, working with others, continues to support the user in the specific context of that user as they relate to their own needs and the needs of their company and or organization.

The above example illustrates only one HaaS based service attending a personal computer - electronic mail

As can be seen, there is quite a difference already, between a computer and a personal computer sold and supported with services baked into it - especially when the services exceed in performance and features a wide range of services users would otherwise have to find and perhaps configure on their own.

The value of a HaaS based computer is magnified when it is repeated. The value of people centric services based computers escalates dramatically when they are delivered in groups. Take a small business with twenty-five people and subject each of them to the HaaS model - benefits are immediate and profound. The value is even greater when one remembers that such a computer is sold with such services as part of its base price - there are no hidden costs.

Going beyond universal messaging

As compelling as messaging and related services are - as life and work-changing as they can be, they are not enough and they are only the beginning in a HaaS based personal computing model. Remember, we're building a personal computer that really does represent the a lifestyle - a digitally enhanced lifestyle.

A great many people would be more than happy with a personal computer delivered with the few services listed above. We weren't.

In the HaaS based computing model we began to sell, we added everything around the computer. We added the network, the managed network. We added backup and recovery services. We added applications development, integration and hosting. We added media and entertainment services. We added every single service one had asked for and then we added one more.

Deploying and Staying

So many personal computer companies hit and run. In a lifestyle company, one deploys and then stays - outside and out of sight - until they are called back into helpdo the next thing. What I mean by this is two-fold, remaining available and remaining aware. When one sells and builds products and services that support a lifestyle, one has to remain available at an instant and one has to remain aware of how businesses and people operate - how for example, a business earns its money.

So once the systems and tools are in place, the real work can begin. When technology companies and the engineers in them learn how people work and play, they can best devise solutions that support the users of their technologies. Those selling computers have to be there for their users and they have to learn how they make their money and how they spend their money. Each new need a customer has is a new opportunity - so HaaS based personal computers have to grow with the users of them.

There is a balance and it has to be maintained and often, HaaS based builders have to start slow, gain trust and respect and then be available. One can't push too hard and one does have to be simply supportive. By this I mean - leave the decision up to the user - unless the user asks you to make them.

Does Apple sell HaaS based computers?

No. Apple does market a lifestyle. If the goals were the same, Apple as a company would be judged to be smarter than mine. Apple wants users to love Apple. I want people to love the computers we make and I want the computers we make to give our users back enough time to love those that really do matter to them - their God, their families and their friends. One must say that as a marketing strategy, Apple's is amazing - it sells the perception of a lifestyle and it attaches enough service to its products to make it work. Apple's great marketing, selling the perception of a lifestyle, is brilliant and it is what is behind Apple's growth - not a bad Vista.

By the way, much of what I have written above is not possible on an Apple - the client OS, applications and tools do not exist and they cannot be scaled, or deployed easily and they cannot be managed centrally.

Vista the HaaS Versus The HaaS Not

Windows Vista and the vast ecosystem that Microsoft not only built, but shared with partners big and small [and tiny, like me], is what makes HaaS and the selling of a real lifestyle possible.

Ingredients List:

Windows Vista Ultimate
Microsoft Office 2007
Exchange 2007
Microsoft Office Communicator Client and Server
Windows Server 2003
Windows Server SharePoint Services
Microsoft SQL Server 2005
IIS 6
BrightStor ArcServe 11r
Expression Web
Visual Studio 2005
UCC SSL Certificate
Premium custom parts
Great customers
Even better team mates

Cheers!

Lloyd

Revenge of the Vista's Update 1

admin — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:22:00 GMT

UPDATED: 29 Jan, 2008

Woo Hoo! Microsoft has begun to produce some compelling material and media designed to educate business owners about the risks inherent to the use of illegal software. They have produced from very slick and informative animations designed to present different scenarios that regretfully, some businesses may find all too familiar.

My favorite so far is called: "Genuine Fact Files: Questionable Consultation"

Quoted from the "Know The Facts" site is a descripton for the animation alerting businesses about deals that are "too good to be true..." I found it especially relevant to many situations we have to compete against. I am really glad to see this kind of marterial out there - it is tough enough competing and impossible to compete with thieves where so many decisions are based upon price.

See,

"Questionable Consultation illustrates the importance of understanding how your business can be adversely impacted by the questionable practices of outside consultants acting on your behalf. If a consultant’s solution sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Don’t be duped by bad advice – be sure you understand the appropriate software and licensing solutions for your business."

It's about time Microsoft did this and helped all of us explain why it is not only right and proper to "keep it legal" but how much more value businesses realize as a result of simply doing the right thing.

I know from my own experience that business owners are more than happy to work with legit service providers selling Genuine and properly licensed software. Not one of them that I have encountered was aware of what was going on and they should - it is their responsibility to know and the time for excuses is at an end.

Get Ready!

Balance is about to be restored to the force...

For over a year now, our industry press and bloggers have been trashing Windows Vista. Some have admitted being paid well to do so, and others have alluded to the reality that they have been offered a lot of money to disparage the new operating system.

That isn't the worst of it. Microsoft Partners, mostly smaller ones - that owe their businesses and livelihoods to Microsoft and the ecosystem that it built around its operating systems and servers, have been far worse. They have been busy trashing Vista, too and some have taken the lowest of low roads and stolen from Microsoft. Some have stolen the truth as well as property. Some have been hood-winking their customers and buying cheap PC's loaded with Windows Vista Basic, or Home Premium and ripping it off and installing less than legal copies of Windows XP Professional. These same partners have then charged the customer for the work - all the while declaring that they are "XP Only" shops, because Vista is "bad."

I've seen it with my own sad, tired eyes. I've heard it with my own ears and it makes me sick. Stealing is wrong, illegal and just as bad as lying - both are acts of thievery - one steals property and the other steals the truth.

Let me say this: "where I see it - the theft - I will act according to the rule of law." So fellow partners, where I move into markets and I can prove what I have written above, count on being called on it - count in being held to account. As necessary and with my own money, I will make our new customers legal and you can bet I will show them how to make Vista and Office 2007 a perfect part of their lives and businesses.

There is change coming and it is coming from business owners and regular people

We have a wide base of professional business users and in each of them we have been deploying Windows Vista Business and Ultimate since its business and general public launch. Windows Vista has been the most reliable and enjoyable operating system we have ever used and our customers have taken delight in using it - so much so, that they, just as we do, miss Vista each time we encounter XP, or any other OS.

Recently, we have moved into new markets - physically. In these new markets we found a mess. People, businesses and systems so under-served and so badly configured and maintained that people had lost faith in computers and digital communications entirely. We found a block of users unwilling to consider what technology can do for them and it took weeks of hard work to get them to even consider the possible benefits of modern, well maintained and integrated systems and software.

We started slowly. We followed through and followed up and in a short while began the slow, methodical march toward real productivity, security and promise - the promise that all things digital can and will deliver to businesses and people.

We built on our base of understanding - the understanding that comes from years of work and participation in the BETA and testing phases attending any new technology and the all too familiar work we invested in the years leading up to the launch of Windows Vista. For us, there were few surprises and for our customers, new and old, there were none. We made everything work.

Making everything work is the key and what a "partner" is supposed to do

Yes, of course there were and are challenges. Users need to be trained. Users need to understand how things work. That is no problem, but a huge opportunity - for the partner in us to earn our pay and earn the trust and respect of the new users we are serving. We do that. We follow up - we persist - we remain available and we train, teach, coach and encourage users to explore all the new operating system can do.

Users are the drivers

Success in this business is not just about decision makers and influence-rs. Success in IT/MIS services is about helping each user - regardless of the tasks at hand. When partners work hard to support every user in a business, they earn the trust and confidence of the user base.

New users of Windows Vista are delighted. When a partner, builder and integrator works alongside the users and delivers a finished product, Vista is allowed to shine and really demonstrate how much better it is. Our users, established and new, have each responded with delight at the new features, performance and capabilities available in the new OS. While they don't see it, I am sure they are happy with the increased security - and great security is transparent in exactly that way. Well prepared and deployed Vista systems do not present User Account Control [UAC] events to users - the systems are already fully configured.

Existing users of XP have had seven years to learn the ropes - are we at all surprised that alone, and on their own, Windows Vista would be a challenge to become as familiar to them? On one's own, of course any such change would be hard. However, with a well prepared partner at the side of the user and small business, Vista and the new Office 2007 suite can quickly emerge as being the truly better versions that they are. Windows Vista in particular, has so much power and baked in features that good partners are more important than ever.

When working with new customers that have never been fully supported, I have seen how disappointed they are that the truth and real benefits of using the new Windows have been concealed from them. Some are quite angry and want to know why the new operating system has been described as it has. I work to steer away from such things, and get the users back onto more positive tracks and get into what they can now do.

Vista Converts

Vista changes people. It changes how they think about a PC. When properly configured and supported, Vista and its users are free of a lot of the worry and concerns they once had. They stop worrying about mal-ware. They understand that "Protected Mode" in Internet Explorer and UAC will at least alert them to dangers they may encounter while working in the cloud.

Partners Matter

A lot of partners are hit and run experts, it seems. They sell and leave. Partners need to learn how to sell and stay - how to commit to the user and how to grow with them. Microsoft Partners have to learn that their users matter more than profits and that business success is a natural by-product generated by simply delivering great services and products.

Partners needed to have done all the hard work necessary to deliver the full advantage present in Windows Vista. Many didn't. Many did what was easy. Some did and do what is unthinkable - they stole. They stole the truth - from users and themselves.

The Revenge of Vista

Make no mistake about it. Great partners - big and small, are delivering great services and products based upon the new Windows and Office. The truth and reality is spreading and fast and people and businesses are ready for change - they are ready for what is next. Vista is next and those partners that have worked hard, told the truth and played by the rules are going to be the winners - right along with the users they support.

Vista isn't just good. Vista is great. It's fast, reliable and easy to use. Vista is sharp - it is so much sharper in appearance than other versions of Windows and OS X that the differences are striking. Sit an OS X user down - sit them down side by side with Vista on one had and OS X on the other - and do a few comparisons. They and you will see how cloudy and fuzzy OS X is and how crisp and sharp Windows Vista is. Show them how much clearer and better defined Vista's fonts are and how much brighter and faster Vista screens are. You and they will be surprised. Show them how much more sense the Windows Vista Explorer is as compared to OS X's "Finder" - do the same opposite XP and you'll quickly see why Vista is so much better.

When one does these few things, and takes the time to show what Vista is all about, it takes only a few minutes and the new Vista user turns on and begins to explore the new Windows. That's all it takes - just a few moments.

So get ready. Vista users are coming and in the hundreds of millions and they are going to have some tough questions for partners and our press. They are going to ask pointed questions about why it has taken so long for partners and the press to tell the truth - they are going to ask why people lied to them.

If you are a partner, be a good one. If you are a user, finding a good partner is easy - ask them what they run - if they are running Windows Vista Ultimate on a PC they built with their own hands, then that is the partner you want to work with. If they start to trash Vista and they don't know why it is better, or recommended, then move on - find a partner with a few cuts on his fingers - they'll be there because his hands will have been in a computer, or server case in the recent past and he'll keep a few nicks on his fingers as a result.

Windows Vista's Preview Pane in Explorer

admin — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 16:41:00 GMT

Windows Explorer in Windows Vista features a lot of enhancements over previous versions of the operating system. Among my favorites and one that I have found very useful, is the Preview Pane - a view available under the Organize menu option in the top tool bar of the Windows Vista Explorer. As with most menu options there is a small down arrow to the right of the selected tool. Clicking the down arrow exposes Layout Options - among these are the, Details Pane, the Preview Pane and the Navigation Pane.

The image below reflects the expansion of the Organize menu and the selection of the Preview Pane. The Preview Pane provides a scalable preview area to the right of the main file selection details pane. The Preview Pane is a great way to see a more detailed view of selected items and it works with pictures, documents and media files. A Windows Vista user may preview files without having to open the associated program like, Windows Photo Gallery, or Windows Media Player, or even Microsoft Office Word. I have scaled the Preview Pane in the pictured example to enlarge the preview area - clicking and dragging the vertical bar between panes allows one to size and scale the preview pane and using Vista's better support for all things visual, the selected image sizes and scales with it just as it does from the Views tool in the menu bar in Windows Explorer.

One way we use the Preview Pane is to select and organize images supporting the documentation of the software we build. The Preview Pane in Windows Vista makes this process very simple and fast.

Use the Organize tool along with the Views tool in Windows Vista to create the views that best suite the task being performed. User selections will be remembered and stored for each different area in Windows Explorer - so users may always organize and view content based upon the type that it is. These views may be saved along with saved searches, too and they can save a lot of time.

Ending the Blame Game - Driving Your Own Car!

admin — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 14:36:00 GMT

Ed Bott, in a discussion thread in response to one of his blog postings about "No more Vista whining, please" revealed something very troubling - Ed twice stated that he was offered and could make "Big Bucks" if he wrote articles trashing Windows Vista. Well no kidding, was my immediate response - and then I was horrified at my own reaction - I was horrified, because I wasn't surprised by what Ed revealed. I just accepted the idea that people really were willing to ignore facts, obfuscate the truth about the new operating system and all users and small business owners were to be damned - as people were paid to lie about and then trash [for money] an operating system central to the evolution of the ecosystem supporting ninety-plus percent of the computers used around the world. My own reaction made me sick - I used to stand up against such things based upon the worth of truth alone.

Are advertisers and special interests really willing and or actually paying journalists and bloggers to trash Windows Vista? If so, how does one find evidence of it? I guess these are questions worth asking and it is quite a story, if true. I thought about researching the matter and then I thought about it some more and decided that pursuing so much potentially negative energy would be a lot more costly personally than it would be worth. Instead what you are about to read came to mind.

Dealing with the Unrelenting, Unforgiving Man in the Mirror - he isn't going to go away!

We may as well make peace with the man in the mirror right now. Those that do will learn what it is to truly live without fear. Those that don't will continue to seek out and find targets to blame for everything that is wrong in their lives - no matter how big, or small. For now, let's just keep it simple and deal with something small... computers and the operating system that likely runs on it.

Far too often we spend a lot of time and energy blaming others and or something else for what does not work in our lives - including our personal computers. It's a sad trend and it's getting worse and easier to do. Any time we need support for our efforts to blame others, all we need do is turn to the web and we'll find plenty of others willing to do the same and share our justifications. When it comes to personal computers and Windows we all have plenty of company and lots of angry voices to help us blame Windows for all things troubling, or even mildly challenging about our computers. Very few of those thumping in to support our blame game ever turn us around and march us straight into the nearest mirror and rightfully say, "Dude, the real problem here is between the chair and the keyboard - kindly deal with this idiot, first!"

The problem isn't the person - the computer user in general. The problem is how we are responding to challenges. Instead of taking ownership and responsibility, we're very quick to look for and blame someone, or some thing else - these days it may as well be Windows Vista. After all, people are apparently being paid to trash it and assign it fault for all things troubling about computers.

It's not my fault...

I have an adult child that uses that phrase like a crack addict hits the pipe and it makes me want to vomit and split my own stomach [where did I go so wrong with that one?!?!?] "No, it may very well NOT BE your FAULT, but it for damn sure is likely to be your responsibility."

Responsibility and Ownership

Being successful is not the result of the application of some secret formula, or instances of blind luck. Success is a product - responsibility multiplied by the number of times one is willing to take ownership of challenges on behalf of themselves and others. It is high time people re-took responsibility and ownership of their role when operating a modern connected computer. It is long past any time when computer users could wear ignorance like some merit badge. It is time those blessed enough to be born into modern and technically developed societies come to regard computer literacy in the same light as they should general literacy - as an imperative life skill.

People and Cars - Cars and Computers

Take your car, and your average driver as an example... Nearly all of us drive everyday. We drive safely, for the most part and responsibly most of the time. We drive without thinking about the mechanics of it and that is how it must be - if we had to think about it, we'd be whacking into one another and a lot of other objects with a great deal more regularity. When a human drives a car they are fully engaged - processing a myriad of actions and information simultaneously. Each of a driver's limbs is in motion and independent of the motion of the other limbs. We're modulating the accelerator, brakes and signals independent of steering and the amazing stereo-optic binocular vision our creator provided each of us is constantly triangulating not only our own time, speed and distance, but that of many dozens of other objects - each in independent motion. Our other sense are not idle either. Our ears are tuned in to all around us and our sense of touch senses how hard we are on and need to brake just as capably as it senses how a car is turning, or how well balanced its wheels are. Our sense of smell alerts us of any potential dangers to man and or machine - the smell of oil, gasoline, exhaust, and even coolant - each can alert us in an instant if there is cause for concern or action. We may even engage our sense of taste as we add the consumption of beverages and snacks as we motor along [not a great idea, and not at all recommended, but we all do it]. These days we also talk on our phones [hoping they are hands free, but realistic enough to know many are not], and God forbid, some even text and send emails! If we stopped and thought about it for even a moment, we might even slow down a little - as we marvel at just how complex and involved driving is.

As amazing as driving is, and as casually as we all perform the function of driving, we seldom think about how we arrived at such a capable state. Let me refresh our memories... We learned to drive over many years and it began first by watching a great many others drive. We absorbed and learned to mimic the mechanics and art of driving long before we ever touched a wheel of our own. A little later on we sat in the laps of parents, brothers and sisters and other adults in our families - they let us steer as we slowly tooled around an empty lot, farm or early morning road empty of other cars. A bit later we drove little carts at amusement parks and our arms, legs, hands and eyes picked up on the mechanics of driving. We thrilled at all of it - we could sense the freedom under our fingers and we longed to hit the open road on our own. Next we entered formalized drivers training and we learned the rules of the road as well as how to drive technically and safely. We were awarded permits and under the careful eye of an adult, we practiced driving. Finally, we took off on our own - masters of the wheel... or so we thought. As young drivers we all bumped, scrapped and crashed into a lot more things and other cars than most are willing to admit and only after many years of driving and having to pay the price for our mistakes, did we start to really get it and operate our cars like responsible and seasoned members of a very large and growing club.

All the while we paid for insurance, tickets and maintenance and it all hurt and still does. Over time we embraced the reality that owning and driving a car was a big and costly responsibility and we learned the value of doing it right each and every time. When we had kids we came to understand the real importance of driving safely and defensively and our understanding of this only grew as our children grew and began to drive themselves. We became keenly sensitive to the use of our cars - especially when our kids did not care for them, or heaven forbid, wrecked them. We all paid and very sadly, too many paid, too much and they lost loved ones in terrible accidents. In the end, as much as we came to appreciate our need to drive, we embraced how amazing a privilege it really is.

In a car, we are trained, licensed, insured, policed, inspected and governed. We are free to drive to any place we wish, when we wish, but there are basic rules and laws we must adhere to if we are to remain safe and retain our privilege to drive. When we wreck a car, even the worst of them seem only to affect a very few and as horrible and tragic as the losses may be, they are most often distant enough from us, that we are tricked into assessing it can't ever involve us. When we operate a personal computer however, we are subject to nearly no laws - though our potential to harm millions is very real.

Cars and Driving - Perhaps the First "Liberating Technology"

The car changed us - it changed society as we know it. The car liberated us. We could work, learn, marry, live and die hundreds and thousands of miles distant from where we were born. I named my company, "Liberating Technologies" because I saw computer based technologies as being even more liberating - freeing people from the finite paths over which cars might travel between any two, or more points. As a technology, computers are the most liberating technology we now have - they are the cars we drive along an unending and ever changing network of invisible roads and with them we travel as fast as our minds will let us - rendering the speed of light to some lesser velocity.

Driving Computers - the most Liberating of Technologies

First, we have to get our heads around the idea that we drive our computers and by so doing, we are participants on a network of many highways which require that we exercise at least as much care for how we operate a computer as we do a car. Second, we have to stop blaming people and companies for what we experience while operating a computer of any kind and start taking ownership of the experience and responsibility for our actions and the less visible actions taken by our computers. We wouldn't dream of letting an un-trained child or young adult drive our cars and we shouldn't dream of letting a child drive a computer without the same controls, supervision and care we apply to the use of a car. It took us years to reduce the driving of a car to muscle memory and we have to accept that it will take time to master the use of connected computers. We have to commit to educating ourselves and those we are responsible for.

Once we have accepted the life-long responsibility of properly and safely operating a connected computer, then and only then may we effectively participate among others who have accepted the same. The socialization of the web is great, but we have to admit that it may also be lending a disproportionate share of voice to a highly vocal group of people that may not have earned their full right to that voice. Simply, many operators out there may have the technical skills to drive, but we must ask, do they have the wisdom to drive alongside others and do they have the experience necessary to formulate policies, or even influence those policies that have the potential to impact so many others. We have to condition ourselves and others to stop blaming others and start taking responsibility for how well, or not well, computers operate.

Like Cars, Computers are More Capable and Complex than Ever Before

Very few people are shade-tree mechanics any longer. For better and for worse, cars have become so sophisticated and so complex that even the most seasoned professional mechanics are now highly specialized and focused on areas of responsibility. Precious few people are experienced in all areas of how a car is built or works. In our own company, which is a full-service enterprise, we have specialists and no one person has all the capabilities our customers need. Collectively however, our teams do have the required aggregate experience and skill. The very same is true of a modern computer in the context of a user. So it is most important that computer users come to understand to whom they may turn when they need assistance - and they WILL NEED assistance. They may not necessarily need repairs right away, but computer users nearly always need help immediately.

Stop Blaming Windows and Vista

Blaming Windows, Vista and Microsoft my score a forum poster style points over at /. or earn a compliant blogger a few more dollars, but it isn't going to solve the challenges people face when learning and using a new operating system.

We have proved to ourselves, our customers and readers that Windows Vista can be made to run not just well, but perfectly. I have shared our work and experiences here. We know and have shown that with the application of normal levels of effort and care, that Windows Vista is capable of satisfying claims of being the most capable, secure and easiest to use version of Windows yet made. We know from our own use that Windows Vista is more than just capable and reliable, it is a joy to use - it's fast, beautiful to look at and things really are easy to find - be they applications, documents, or media of any type.

We also know how sophisticated Windows Vista is and that it took very hard work to design and manufacture computers and software that allow it to do what it does best. We know how hard we studied to learn and understand it from every perspective and how to optimize it for different roles.

We assess that computer users need to apply similar, but relevant efforts in learning the new operating system and the hardware they purchased, or purposed in support of Windows Vista.

The Parallels between Cars and Computers are nearly Endless but there are differences, too!

The most common parallel between computers and cars are the people that drive them - we humble human beings. We are fragile, complex little bi-peds with sharp teeth and sharper tongues. We have devolved in a lot of ways - we seem to delight in getting over on the other guy, or we fume in traffic and on the message boards. When it all heads south, we look for whom we might blame and blaming Microsoft and Windows Vista is as big, fat and attractive a target as they come - juicier and more available than Ford and Firestone - despite the fact that we never, ever check the air in our tires!

No one is immune from the blame game. Not me, not you and not well heeled techies the likes of Jim Louderback [no wonder PC MAG is on the ropes - the former senior editor wouldn't have made a decent PC Tech, much less a great computer engineer - not if you read his empty rant and take from it what I did...].

We've all done it. We've set down our responsibilities, picked up a big fluffy pillow and cried out load about how unfair it all is. We need to stop it.

Action is what is Required

This post is not enough by a long shot. We have to do more. I have to assume that people will read this and really want to learn more and take back ownership of what they do on and with a PC.

While we have always made ourselves available for COST FREE computer user training, we're taking it a step further and opening a school. We're offering our customers, their families, friends and colleagues, FREE access to training on Windows Vista, Office 2007, Exchange 2007, WSS 3.0, Windows Server 2003/2008 and all that may be done with and on them. Every other Saturday of every month, we will host people in our data center and simply share what and how we drive our PC's, networks and software. We have a full lab available and it includes all the systems, media systems, HDTV's and associated bits we all use every day. We're open and we're going to share and help people take back and own their computers and perhaps learn to face that guy in the mirror on our own terms in the process.

We hope you'll join us for the ride.