Windows 7 part 2

Windows 7 has turned out to work pretty well for me so far. I was able to use the bulk of my applications that I need with little or no problems.

Wireshark, nmap, java, all installed without any problems. Java plugins in a few browser based systems I use worked without any problems. Oddly enough i had a problem with activex controls with one application that I use, SolarWinds Orion, where it kept wanting to install the toolset and no matter what I did with the browser, it simply didn't work right. Luckily they had a work around on Thwack, I suggest going out there if you run into similar problems.

The only other app I had problems with had a problem with the updater. The app launched and ran, but the auto updater couldn't pull down the files. I changed the install directory to reside outside "c:\Program Files" and it would download the updates, but not install them. I ended up installing the updates manually and now the app runs fine.

Plugins for our SSLVPN installed and ran without a hitch, so this was a major win as far as I am concerned since I use it nightly. Anti-virus software installed and runs, which is good, we use Trend Micro Officescan.

All in all, I have to say that my experience so far with Windows 7 has been positive and look forward to continuing to integrate it into my usage with the eventual goal of being able to upgrade from XP Pro.

Windows 7 part 1

Now that I have an official release version of Windows 7 I decided to install it on one of my notebooks and give it a try.

The notebook I am using is an HP nc6320 with 2GB of RAM and an Intel T7200 2.0GHz CPU.

First the install. In typical fashion the installation of the Windows operating system is very straight forward and easy to perform. Activation of my code was straight forward and went off without a hitch. After applying the updates, everything I needed to have up and running was, including all of the buttons on the keyboard except the presentation key, which really isn't critical for me on this notebook.

Performance feels as good on this base install as it does on a base install of XP on this same box. The web browsing experience is about the same as with XP/IE8 and the basic plugins such as Silverlight, Flash, and Adobe reader installed without any problems.

I'll examine application compatibility, security settings, etc... in following posts, but for now it's doing the job.

Kindle

I've had my Kindle for a while now, but haven't gotten around to write about it till now.

There are a lot of things I like about my Kindle, something I don't really care for, and only one thing that I could do without.

Let's start by examining the things I like about the Kindle. First, it has plenty of titles to choose from, I've had no problems finding things to read. Second, the size is perfect, it fits right in your hands like a paperback would. They did a great job with the display, it's easy to read and I don't get eye fatigue like I do when reading from other electronic devices. Finally, the battery life is really good. I stay connected to the network all of the time and I am able to read for several hours at a time without worrying about having to find an outlet.

Now when it comes to reading newspapers on the Kindle, I can't say I care for the format. You needlessly have to scroll through articles that you could easily pass over if you had the actual printed copy. (unless of course I am missing a navigation feature)

The one thing I could really do without is the DRM aspect. I have been burned by DRM servers going off line in the past and left with useless locked music files. I feel a little more confident that Amazon isn't going anywhere, but is something I always keep in mind.

So for me, books I would like to keep forever I still buy hard copies. Newspapers, it's print for me. However, for most titles I think the Kindle is a great format for which to read books.

Need IPv6 info?

Here is a website full of information about IPv6. It contains news, information and links to other sources of information for IPv6.

IPv6 Act Now

ittv

Here is a nice site full of some useful videos dealing with Windows and Windows based solutions.

ittv

What's installed?

Every needed or wanted to know what versions of software are installed on your Linux box? If you have a Debian or Debian based distro such as Ubuntu you can use the following command to list out the packages, description, and version info.

dpkg-query -l

sudoers file

If you ever run into an issue where the account your using doesn't have sudo rights you simply just need to edit the /etc/sudoers file.

Be sure and use the visudo command to do this.

NetStumbler alternative for Mac

The other day I was looking for a NetStumbler alternative for the Mac. After trying a couple I finally settled on KisMAC.

KisMac is straight forward to setup and use. It gives important information such as SSID, Channel, Encryption type, signal strength, etc...

If you ever just need a quick and dirty way to detect the WAPs in an area, i'd recommend you check it out.