A program that provides Software, Support and Visibility for Software Startups.
If your business developes software, is privately held, is less than three years old, and makes less than $1M US annually… you might qualify for greatly discounted (or nearly free) Microsoft software.
For more information, check out the requirements on the Microsoft® BizSpark™ web page.
Originally posted 2009-11-17 01:00:01.
Let me start off by saying that there is a lot of free software available for just about every popular operating system that works well, is well written, and straight forward to use.
Let me also point out that a lot of free software is free because is simply couldn’t be sold — yes it’s that bad (of course there is a lot of commercial software that is on the market that shouldn’t be sold; but that’s another rant).
I have a favorite saying:
You rarely get what you pay for.
And with free software that could be taken to mean, it almost always ends up costing you…
I always recommend that you read up on software before you use it; and try to read comments written by someone with similar computer skills and goals as you have. Then ask yourself the simple questions “do you need the software” and ”do you have something that already does the same thing that works”.
If you just want to play with a piece of software, consider using a virtual machine to try it out and then discard the changes; and I always try out a piece of software in a virtual machine even if I’m fairly sure it’s something I want.
I maintain a list of products (free and for pay) on my web site that I consider worth using…
It’s rare that I have any problems with any of my computers — and that’s mainly because I don’t “junk” them up with lots of software I never will use and don’t need… and keep in mind — COMPUTER PROBLEMS are one of the costs of installing software.
Originally posted 2008-12-17 12:00:43.
Yesterday 220 miles above Australia the space shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station for the last time… and with the recent cuts to NASA budget (and cancellation of the Constellation and Aries programs) it effectively marks the end of the US space program.
I’ll underscore that most all the advances in electronics we enjoy today (micro-chips, micro-waves, etc) responsible for the growth of communications, computing, internet, consumer convenience can be traced back to the rapid push to put a man on the moon.
While this might not be the end of the technological advancements in the US, one really has to ask is it yet another sign of the decline of the US into the pages of history.
A staggering debt, unemployment by some estimates that effects one in five American adults, skyrocketing energy costs, the end of the middle class… I simply cannot imagine anyone truly believing “the land of the free and the home of the brave” applies any longer.
Originally posted 2011-02-27 02:00:52.
If you have a need to transfer files via FTP, SFTP, SCP, etc and you prefer to user a graphical user interface on a Windows, Mac, or Linux machine — then the Open Source FileZilla is a very good solution to consider.
Just download the client, install it, and within a few moments you’ll have a connection to a server (that you can save the information for quick reuse if you like). The interface is clean and easy to understand, and supports drag-and-drop as well as transfers from the multi-pane manager.
And, you can’t beat the price – FREE.
Originally posted 2011-09-13 02:00:47.
I haven’t sent one of these tid bit emails out in a long long time — this is just a collection of little points that you might find comes in handy.
Server 2008 is indeed out and available. I think I’m going to wait a few months (and I’m just about out of funds for MSFT store purchase, so doubtful I can get a copy for anyone else — I’ll probably do the MSDN OS subscription again). Hyper-V has not shipped as of yet.
Service Pack 1 for Vista can be downloaded or you’ll get it from Windows Update. If you’re updating more than a single machine, download the whole thing (Windows Update will swamp your connection). There are separate packs for 32-bit and 64-bit (you may need both if you have both machines). Also, copy the update file to the local disk (it will need elevated privileges to install).
Virtual Server 2005 R2 can be installed on XP, XP-64, Vista-32, or Vista-64. The management interface requires IIS, so that’s a little different with PWS version on non-server platforms. If you have VS installed on a server, you should be able to manage _all_ of your installations from one management interface (though Vista doesn’t make that easy).
Google GMail allows you to host your domains for email there for free… you basically get GMail accounts in your own domain. I’ve moved my mail services over there for the time being (I still archive all my email on my own server at home, but the active send/receive is done via GMail).
Parallels is coming out with a new server (64 & 32 bit) to compete with Hyper-V; I looked at the beta (definitely a beta, but useable), they may be able to get some of the market share — but my guess is they’ll get the share from VMware (I didn’t care for the Mac-ish look of the product on Windows).
2.5″ SATA disk drives continue to fall in price; Seagate 250GB drives were $104 @ Fry’s, and they still had some on the shelf on Monday!!!
Intel hasn’t release the most of the 45nm processor family yet; the older Core2 dual and quad processor continue to be a great buy. Remember that really none of the current Intel chip sets take advantage of the higher transfers the newer processors are capable of (well the X38, but that’s supposed to have major issues) — so you might want to wait for the next generation of Intel chips and motherboards to hit the market. FYI: Intel delayed the release because AMD missed their ship dates… their new cores had some rather serious flaws
Notebook and desktop memory are nearly on par with each other. You can purchase 2 x 2GB for under $100 (easily — even the really fast memory). $60 is actually the low price and $80 get’s you high quality with heat spreaders (notebook memory doesn’t have heat spreaders — no room). 2 x 1GB can be purchased for $40!!!
Originally posted 2008-04-01 12:58:23.
Let me start by saying that Windows Desktop Search is a great addition to Windows; and while it might have taken four major releases to get it right, for the most part it works and it works well.
With Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 Desktop Search is installed and enabled by default; and it works in a federated mode (meaning that you can search from a client against a server via the network).
Desktop Search, however, seems to have some issues with junction points (specifically in the case I’ve seen — directory reparse, or directory links).
The search index service seems to do the right thing and not create duplicates enteries when both the parent of the link and the target are to be indexed (though I don’t know how you would control whether or not the indexer follows links in the case where the target wouldn’t normally be indexed).
The search client, though, does not seem to properly provide results when junction points are involved.
Let me illustrate by example.
Say we have directory tree D1 and directory tree D2 and both of those are set to be indexed. If we do a search on D1 it produces the expected results. If we do a search on D2 it produces the expected results.
Now say we create a junction point (link) to D2 from inside D1 called L1. If we do a search on L1 we do not get the same results as if we’d searched in D2.
My expectation would be that the search was “smart” enough to do the search against D2 (taking the link into consideration) and then present the results with the path altered to reflect the link L1.
I consider this a deficiency; in fact it appears to me to be a major failing since the user of information shouldn’t be responsible for understanding all the underlying technology involved in organizing the information — he should just be able to obtain the results he expects.
It’s likely the client and the search server need some changes in order to accommodate this; and I would say that the indexer also needs a setting that would force it to follow links (though it shouldn’t store the same document information twice).
If this were a third party search solution running on Windows my expectation would be that file system constructs might not be handled properly; but last time I checked the same company wrote the search solution, the operating system, and the file system — again, perhaps more effort should be put into making things work right, rather than making things [needlessly] different.
Originally posted 2010-01-22 01:00:57.
Once again I’ve been disappointed with the “service” and “products” provided by an Amazon merchant.
I’ve ask Amazon how to inhibit the display of any and all items except those sold by them; I don’t care to deal with the questionable merchants that use Amazon’s sites. And obviously Amazon doesn’t stand behind them either (look over their A-Z Guarantee, and notice that a person who buys an item every day has the same lifetime limits as one who rarely buys — sounds to me like Amazon is afraid to offer a real guarantee — why should I have more confidence).
Anyway, rather than play the game with Amazon I’ve just opened a charge dispute with my credit card company (which in this case happens to be an Amazon credit card).
If Amazon doesn’t have a way to block the display non-Amazon merchandise I’ll close my account (and credit card).
Originally posted 2009-04-08 12:00:24.
Consumer Cellular is a “discount” cellular provider (apparently a Verizon Wireless MVNO) that offers no-nonsense plans with no contract and low rates for users who only occasionally use their cell phones and the ability to change your plan at will.
Let me underscore that I don’t have any personal experience with Consumer Cellular, so I can’t vouch for their service — so my recommendation is keep a copy of the information from their web page in a PDF and pay with a credit card; that way if you find they don’t live up to their end of the “bargain” just work with your credit card company.
http://www.consumercellular.com/
Originally posted 2010-04-28 02:00:11.
This is a listing of server names for various internet service providers and hosting companies I’ve complied. Use your browser (page text) search feature to locate the one you’re interested or browse them alphabetically (this is a lengthy post).
1&1
Adelphia Internet Service
AT&T Internet Service
AOL Internet Service
Bell Altantic Internet Service
BellSouth Internet Service
BlueLight Internet Service
Brainstorm Internet Service
Cableone Internet Service
Charter Communications
Comcast Communications
Compaq Internet Service
Compuserve Internet Service
Concentric Internet Service
Cox Communications
Cypress Communications
DirectNIC Internet Service
Dotster
Earthlink Internet Service
EasyCGI
FrontierNet Internet Service
GoDaddy
Google Mail
HughesNet Internet Service
Internet America Internet Service
iPage
IX Web Hosting
Juno Internet Service
JustHost
Lycos
Mac
Mail.com
MegaPath Internet Service
Mediacom Online Internet Service
Mindspring Internet Service
Mpower Communications
MSN Internet Service Provider
Netscape
Network Solutions
NetZero Internet Service
onehost worx Internet Service
Pacifier Internet Service
PeoplePC Internet Service
Pipeline Internet Service
Rediff Internet Service
SBC Yahoo!
Seanet Internet Service
Sonic.net Internet Service
Speakeasy Internet Service
SprintPCS
Sprynet Internet Service
Starpower Internet Service
Time Warner
Verizon Internet Service
Verizon Wireless
WildBlue Internet Service
Windstream Internet Service
Yahoo! Mail
Notes:
Unfortunately, I cannot confirm the accuracy of most of this information; however, should you notice an error (or oversight) please contact me and I will correct it.
As I determine the encryption and ports for each provider I’ll add them as well.
Originally posted 2010-10-29 02:00:41.
If you have a cellular plan that allows you to make air-time free calls to a set of designated numbers, then Google Voice might be able to save you some money by effectively giving you unlimited calling.
I’ve written up BLOG entries on how to use Google Voice to get “free” calling before; and I’ve included the caution that you might not want to use it for calls that might contain sensitive information…
Personally I find that when I need to call “customer service” (those people you speak to at a big company that don’t provide much service at all) it generally takes forever and would quickly exhaust my monthly allowance of minutes — and I personally don’t care of Google indexes the information in the call or not.
With a Smart Phone you can use the web interface to Google Voice any time you want to make calls, if you have an Android phone Google has already provided an app that allows you to use Google Voice directly from your contacts if not, there’s a number of apps you can buy or just download that achieve that.
For those who have Windows Mobile and an unlimited data plan (like me), I use iDialer (a free app) with the pre-fab configuration for Google Voice (you can configure it for other services as well — the Google Voice one just requires you download, install, and then provide your Google Voice account information).
Bottom line — it works… though I have to tell you it’s a little odd to “dial” a call and then immediately have your phone ring to complete it… but that’s how Google Voice works (in callback mode).
It’s free, it’s easy to install, and like I said it works.
http://www.supware.net/iDialer/
Originally posted 2010-04-18 02:00:45.
