Another Opinion Among Many

The WordPress team just released a critical security update to its venerable software (which runs this site) yesterday, as they had been made aware of a possible exploit. They patched the hole and released the fix. This is a necessary update. The fix does not include anything more.

What about other updates we see often? Is it right that software we’ve become reliant on has begun to include extras, as part of a marketing ploy? Check out Susan Bradley’s article, “Sun,  Apple, Microsoft install chaff with patches” in the latest Windows Secrets newsletter for more about what I’m talking about. Her insight prompted m to scratch down this rant.

These slimy “updates” are one of the reasons that I’m glad that I left Microsoft Windows behind, as its the operating system that’s getting the most attention in this manner,  so far.  I haven’t checked out the latest Sun Java for Linux yet, though. It may be laden with a 30 day trial for something I didn’t really want, as a check box.

I understand that companies are trying to maximize their profits, but I’ve always felt that the “smash and grab” mentality was not profitable in the end, as it damages the reputation, and therefore, any credibility, that a company may have (or have left). How is this sustainable.

This subject brings to mind another thought that I will write about in more detail soon regarding the behavior of certain software and how its affecting the general computer using population. Stay tuned for that.

A relative approached me about helping to repair their computer. They have an old IBM Netvista. It had just stopped booting up, and the way that they described the problem to me over the phone, it sounded like the CPU may have died.

When they brought it over, though, it actually was booting to the BIOS screen, but crapping out after when it tried to start the operating system.  This machine had an originally installed copy of Microsoft Windows XP Home edition. The license key was on a sticker on the computer case, which is completely normal.

After a bit of research, I found that others had this same problem, and it had been something that might go wrong with some versions of this model. The solution was to reinstall Windows and claim your machine back. So, I sourced out a copy of Windows XP Home Edition, as I don’t run Windows on my computer at all. A friend lent me his XP Home CD and I proceeded to install the operating system.

I chose a “repair”, as I wanted to try and save the data on the hard drive, since my relatives are perfectly normal and don’t have backups (I bet they’ll make one this time).

As usual, the installation took over an hour to do, but it went without much of a hitch. I got to the screen where Microsoft wants you to enter the license key for your purchased product and it wouldn’t accept the valid key on the computer sticker. This made me angry. Why would they not accept a paid for license key? Continue reading ‘What good is that license key?’ »

I wish that the idiot WHO official who decided to open his mouth to the world had checked the science of his statement. You can’t get the flu from eating meat. Flu travels via air, not flesh. At least a Canadian newspaper is willing to publish a reference to fact. I hope that more follow.

update: It seems that Slate magazine also has some educated things to say about this, too.

Have you ever done something so boneheaded that you just wish that you could rewind your day?

Today, it snowed and the wind blew (okay, it was yesterday, as its 12:31am and I’m still up).  I don’t know what the snowfall amount ended up as, since its still falling, but I know that the wind blew a lot of it into my driveway.

I left work early today so that I could go home during daylight.  That was the plan, anyways. I went to my car (wading through the snow in the parking lot) and pulled my keys out of my pocket to start the car.  As I pulled the chain out of my pocket, I hit one of the buttons on the remote lock.  I started the car and grabbed my snow brush to clean off the ice and snow from the windows.  I got out of the car and shut the driver’s door and got to the scraping.  Did you catch that? I shut the door.

Yep, I locked the keys inside the car, in the ignition.  My car is locked and running.  My keycard to get back into work is in the car, as I always remove it and store it in the glove box, so that I’ll have it for when I go back to work (and I can lock it in, so its secure).  So, I’m outside in a blizzard, snow pelting me, blurring my glasses and getting me wet, holding my snow brush.

I tried to break into my car with a coat hanger but it wasn’t stiff enough to work the lock or window buttons.  I did this for about an hour without any luck.  It seems that locks are meant to work.

Did I mention that I had no money with me? So, I called my car dealership to see if my “roadside assistance” covered locking your keys in the car.  Apparently not.  So, I told the guy that I had no money so I couldn’t afford to pay a tow truck driver or locksmith to get into my car.  My heart was sunk to the floor at that point.  He raised it a bit by suggesting that I call the towing company that they use and tell them that I’d pay the dealer int he morning.  So, he gave me the phone number and I called the towing company.

Remember, this is a blizzard-like snow storm. Visibility was pretty low and they were busy helping people out of ditches, etc.  It was nearly an hour before they showed up (but he warned me).  So, the tow driver took out a scraper-like device and a slim bladder device to pry the door from the frame of the car by pumping the bladder up, like a blood pressure guage.  he then took his nice doorunlocker rod to push the button to lower the window and he opened the door for me.  Cha-ching!

I followed the snowplow down the highway to home at about 50km/h.  I was pretty bedraggled from the outdoor ordeal, so I concetrated on getting the end of the driveway cleared enough to get the car off the road and lef the rest for later.  I came in and ate and relaxed (recharged, really).  After watching a TV show, I went back outside (in the dark) and finished off the driveway.  I need to have it fairly clear for Saturday, as I’ve got someone coming to service the phone and internet.  I can’t have them wading through 3 feet of snow to do that, now can I?

So now, my rant is over and I am going to bed, only to wake up 5 hours from now.  I’d planned on helping a brewery meet their botom line after work.  I don’t think that I’m going to push their profits over the edge on that much sleep, now am I?

I’ve wondered how anyone could continue to support a company like Apple, when they might get sued at any time for mot using the product according to the way Apple wants you to.

The latest things that Apple is taking exception to publically are companies that make touch screens and users who “jailbreak” their iPhones so that they can use apps that aren’t found in the “app store”.

Apple has filed a patent on their touch screen technology and has shown intent to sue any company that it feels has a touch screen that resembles theirs.

Now, Apple is rattling their sabres again over iPhome jailbreakers, saying that its an illegal act, claiming copyright and DMCA violationsof its software.  So, if you want your iPhone to do things that there isn’t an approved application sitting in the “app store” for you, your device cannot be used fo that purpose, despite its capability to do so.

This is just another example of bullying a slanted interpretation of law onto one’s users to keep them from “popping the hood” of the device they paid a lot of money for.  They are bullying people to stop innovating.  This is such a shame, as Apple has a reputation for producing quality hardware.

It may appear that I’ve wandered off somewhere, and I am not sure if I haven’t. I’ve not written anything here in a while and still haven’t decided to put anything substantive down in words, but, for those who still seem to care about what is written on this corner of the ‘net, I say, “Hello!” Watch the header for a possible email address change, BTW. I’m getting the impression that spammers are spoofing my email address and its getting blacklisted on some email servers. No, that wasn’t me trying to sell you fake Rolex watches.

Damn! Its -34°C outside right now. If the wind blows, it feels like -42°C. I thought that was a temperature reserved for places like Winnipeg.  I don’t like this, especially since our place is heated with electricity and the power flickered about an hour ago.

Frozen Ninjas