Light & Dark

FINALLY an easy way to keep Java up to date on your computer

Java is an application (technically a Virtual Machine) that runs on your computer to enable other little applications to run in your web browser. It needs to be updated regularly to fix significant security vulnerabilities that can leave you open to attack.

Problem is, it's always been very difficult to find out if you need an update (it's a SUN product, so Microsoft Updates won't alert you) and even worse, if you do update, it leaves the old insecure version behind!

The good news is, Sun has finally released an update mechanism that solves both of these problems. Thanks to a Solo Technology post, I can point you to a link which will allow you to automatically check whether your Java is up to date. If it's not, the page will offer you the appropriate download, which will also remove the old version in the process.

Watch out in the installation steps - you'll be offered the Yahoo Toolbar which you'll almost certainly want to decline. It's offered purely as a money-making option for Sun. After completing installation, you'll need to restart your browser to complete the install.

It's now easy to do and well worth the small effort as a way to plug yet another potential hole in many users' security. Go take the test!

Microsoft Office for Students - The Ultimate Steal

If you are a Canadian university/college student who needs the cheapest way to buy Microsoft Office, you absolutely can't beat this deal, direct from Microsoft:

Microsoft Office for Students - The Ultimate Steal. Office 2007 Ultimate for $64 CDN!

I came across this while looking for the best Office deal for a client. She is enrolled as a university student for a distance education degree, which definitely counts for the requirements. The cheapest alternative was Office Home and Student 2007, which is $150 and doesn't include Outlook or Access, which she'll eventually need.

And because it's a fully legit retail version, it's legal to put it on the user's workstation at home and another copy on their laptop. $600 worth of Office for $64. If you know any students who need Microsoft Office, make sure they know about this. (The page refers specifically to university/college students, saying you have to have a university-issued email address to qualify. It then goes on to state that, alternatively, you can email a scan of your student card, so I wonder if a high-school student would qualify. Will see if my Microsoft contact can shed any light on this.)

Qualified students can also get an upgrade copy of Windows Vista Ultimate for $70 CDN. Just look under "Additional Products" on the page linked above. The promo is on until Dec 2010!

If you don't want to reward the Evil Empire with even the $64, (or you don't meet the student qualifications) you can always grab the excellent open source OpenOffice.org office suite for nothing but the download bandwidth.

Finally FireFox

Too stinkin' tired to post, but I just had to  get this up.

Hellelujah!!!! FireFox has been officially released today.

Yup, it's out of beta with its official Firefox 1.0 release.

That gurgling sound you hear? That's Internet Exploder circling the bowl. I, for one, will be doing everything I can to help finish the flush. Kiss your browser share goodbye, Microsoft**.

I haven't had to time to even look at it yet, but will do so tomorrow and write some more about why I personally think this is such a big deal. My congratulations to all those involved with the project.

**Think I'm kidding? Microsoft has made it perfectly plain that the only way to get the ongoing security improvements it's still desperately attempting (and for the most part failing) to implement in IE is to be running WindowsXP. Does MS really think those millions of Windows98 users out there are going to pay several hundred dollars just to get an Internet Explorer upgrade so their system doesn't blow up under spyware/virus loads? When they can have a vastly superior browser for free? It's just an education issue now.

Say What?

For Greg .

A lady struck up a conversation with me on an airplane.

Her: "And where are you going?"
Me: "I'm going to San Francisco to a UNIX convention."
Her: "Eunuchs convention? I didn't know there were that many of you."

"I want it just like that - only different."

For anybody who has ever done web design, or any kind of graphic design for that matter, this post discussing if architects had to work like web designers will be painfully funny. And I do mean 'painfully'.  Give it a read.

I saw the link at Rob's XSet, but judging by the number of trackbacks on the original post, it resonates with an awful lot of other people too. I'm betting the link's been anonymously forwarded to more than a few clients.

I also run into this kind of thing photographing commercial jobs and shooting weddings. The title quote comes from one of my brides, as she was perusing my sample album.

The worst case was a young bride who would want very stylish, fashion-style coverage, but her staid, traditional mother was paying for the wedding. It often seemed like I was shooting two totally different weddings at the same time. I'd end up feeling schizophrenic. Eventually learned to just refuse such assignments, because in the end none of the 3 of us were happy.

In the case of commercial shoots, the best (not) was the client who would come in with a gorgeous, grandiose designer's comp (sketch) of what they wanted - often done by an amateur - and insist the shot be made to look just like the comp. Except the comp hadn't been drawn to scale, and hadn't used the most basic rules of optical perspective common to our universe. I actually had one that showed a product box at an angle, but showed both ends of the box at the same time. Neat trick. And there was usually no lead time and even less budget, but of course I'm the idiot because I can't produce what they want.

Some clients can be educated about the realities, and become wonderful sources of future business as a result. For the ones who can't, it's usually best to just walk away. You just can't win with them, and it's best not to waste your time trying.

Google getting bombed.

The current variant of the MyDoom virus is beating the hell out of Google, causing many users to get error pages instead of search results. Whether you're affected seems to depend on your geographical location.

I've been waiting for this to happen, where virus writers stop showboating and actually go after services that directly negatively affect massive numbers of users.

I don't see how this can be unrelated to Google's imminent IPO for investors. The timing's just too cute.

Manually update your virus definitions (again) and scan your machines, folks. Best to be sure we're not contributing to this mess.

**And yea, I'm gonna say it again - never open an email attachment that you didn't specifically request, even if it comes from someone you know! Also, no real system administrator will ever send you an attachment unless you specifically request it. They will send you a notification email with a request to go to a website to get the needed file. Always type the website address from such emails into your browser yourself, not by clicking on a link in the message, to be sure you're going to the site you think you are.

Windows warriors.

For those times when Windows has you tearing your hair out...

Unleash the killer icons.

Do you Yahoo?

If so, I've got 2 interesting tidbits for you.

The first one is of the 'fucking annoying' variety. In its inimitable style, Yahoo has changed a small element of their Privacy Policy in a way that allows them to follow your tracks more than you'd probably like, by using a Web Beacon (better known as a web bug). As usual, they went ahead & made the change, and you can only avoid it by opting out as opposed to requesting you to opt in, which would be the honest, upfront way. Of course, by being underhanded about it, they just make me that much more suspicious.

Here's the relevant part of the updated Yahoo! Privacy Policy:

• Yahoo! uses web beacons to conduct research on behalf of certain partners on their web sites and also for auditing purposes.
  
• Information recorded through these web beacons is used to report aggregate information about Yahoo! users to our partners. This aggregate information may include demographic and usage information. No personally identifiable information about you is shared with partners from this research.
  
• When conducting research Yahoo!'s practice is to require our partners to disclose the presence of these web beacons on their pages in their privacy policies and state what choices are available to users regarding the collection and use of this information. (yea, right. ed.) You may choose to opt-out of Yahoo! using this information for this research. Please click here to opt-out.

  
  Note: This opt-out applies to a specific browser rather than a specific user. Therefore you will have to opt-out separately from each computer or browser that you use.

Sneaky huh?

As the exerpt mentions, you can follow the link provided to opt out, and I would suggest you do. Note that if you use more than 1 browser, you should use each one to activate the opt-out link.

Thanks go to Bravo Romeo Delta at Anticipatory Retaliation where I first found out about this. By the way, AR has recently ditched BlogSplat in favour of the luxurious accomodations at Munuviana, so check out their new bunker if you want the latest intel.

The second tidbit is of the cool! goodies! variety. For those of us who use Yahoo's Instant Messenger, there is actually a bunch of additional hidden emoticons available for use. You use them by typing their text equivalents. which causes them to show up as regular emoticons in the conversation window. I found printing them out for reference was the easiest way to use them. Somebody I yak with a lot likes the cowboy, and I particularly get a kick out of the hugger. Check 'em out.

PhirePhox Phun

As an inveterate tinkerer, one of the things I really like about the Mozilla web browsers is how well they can be customised to one's specific way of working using extensions. I keep meaning to do a post about which ones I find most useful, but FireSomething , which I found via Sekimori was so hilarious, I just had to mention it. It creates a random name for FireChicken... uhhh...FireFox every time you start your browser.

Given the number of name changes that poor program has endured, this is entirely appropriate. Another great example of a programmer with a bent sense of humour and too much time on his hands.

Mac Morons & Linux Loonies

I've bitched about this before, and I certainly will again, but there's a currrent version that really gets my shorts in a bunch. Technically-savvy computer users who make moronic recommendations to those less experienced are
1: Displaying utter stupidity for which they should be embarassed, and
2: Doing a huge disservice to the rest of the technology community which is doing its best to bring newcomers into the fold, rather than insulting them and pissing them off.

Specifically, I'm referring to the above-named idiots replying to a Windows user requesting help for equipment or software (especially virus) problems by saying "simple... get a Mac/switch to Linux." Hello? Would you mind putting your brain in gear before you put your mouth in motion please?

Do you seriously think anyone is going to consider it reasonable to spend $2000 in hardware and software to resolve their current difficulties? Never mind switching to a new operating system which requires massive research and time investment just to install, let alone use.

What you're saying when you do this is that asserting your sense of superiority is more important than providing a reasonable, useful response to the questioner. And that kind of obnoxiousness is precisely what turns a huge number of people off further attempts to learn to manage their technology better. (And gives the so-called geek community a bad reputation to boot) Congratulations... you know more than a newbie. You must be so proud.

That response also proves that you have absolutely no clue as to how most real world users utilise their computers. To them, a computer is simply a tool to get certain things done. They have no cultish devotion to any operating system or platform. They simply want to get the job done so they can move on to the next task.

So if you don't have the knowledge required to make a sensible suggestion, just shut the fuck up, m'kay? 'Cause otherwise you're acting like an idiot and making it tougher for the rest of us.

Note: I don't have a problem with Mac/Linux users who like to gloat **cough** Snowball & D'fly **cough** that they don't get viruses (much). The simple fact is the system they've chosen isn't as prone to them, and good on 'em for that choice. It's suggesting the complete replacement of someone else's system that's stupid.

And now for the usual disclaimer. I have used both Mac and PC extensively both professionally and personally. I like them both. Both have advantages and disadvantages. This isn't about OS Jihads. It's about stupid advice.