Episode 3 is now ready! check it out. We talk about random things and can't seem to stay on topic.
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Podcast of Things Episode 3: Stuff and things
I try to stay up with the latest technology and driving force behind computers. I am an avid GNU/Linux user but still maintain some use of windows.
Friday, July 10, 2015
Hard Drive Wielding Demons
Ever notice how some music can make the lamest things seems cool?
Ok, that wasn't all that cool, but you know something else that is pretty cool?
Daemons!
No no no. Not ACTUAL demons.
Daemon tools!
Still nope.
I'm actually referring to the Daemon Tools software application. I'll spare you any more bad puns and get to the point.
Have you ever downloaded a file from the internet only to realize that the file needed to be copied to a disc before you could even do anything with it? (Torrenters will know what I'm talking about) These files generally have the .iso extension at the end of them.
Let's say you were born before the year 2000 and you still happen to have a set of blank CDs lying around along with a CD burner. This is not a problem for you then. Simply pop the blank CD into the CD burner and instantly burn the .iso files to the CD and you are good to go!
50 points to the person that gets this reference.
Let's say you were born before the year 2000 and you still happen to have a set of blank CDs lying around along with a CD burner. This is not a problem for you then. Simply pop the blank CD into the CD burner and instantly burn the .iso files to the CD and you are good to go!
But what about the selfie stick wielding generation and their CD less devices? It becomes more of a chore to run/use downloaded .iso files and that's where Daemon Tools comes into play.
Daemon Tools is a virtual drive and optical disc authoring program. Essentially, this means that Daemon Tools is like having a CD player without having the need to have the physical hardware. It changes the game completely.
Daemon Tools is a virtual drive and optical disc authoring program. Essentially, this means that Daemon Tools is like having a CD player without having the need to have the physical hardware. It changes the game completely.
With Daemon Tools, you can now mount that .iso file to a virtual drive. Once mounted, the .iso will behave like a CD drive on your computer. You will be able to access the contents of the drive, Copy them to your desktop, or even Run executables!
You can now smile smugly at your ancient friends who still lug around their heavy laptops with their built in CD players.
You're welcome.
You're welcome.
I'm a renaissance man. Not in the sense of "I love attending renaissance festivals" but more, "I know how to do a LOT of things." Think Leonardo da Vinci
Why Windows 10 will not be the savior you were hoping for
With the upcoming release of Windows 10 a few things people should probably be reminded about. As I sit here and put my tinfoil hat on please be prepared. It has been a big bother of mine since installing windows 10 preview that Microsoft seems to have a disconnect with privacy.
In some facets of technology Microsoft has been moving ahead quite well, just look at Hololens and how awesome that will be. Then they announced Direct X 12 which before I have actually seen performance in an actual machine sounds pretty awesome a well. They then decide to "fix" Windows 8/8.1 and give you back a familiar layout similar to Windows 7 with a few enhancements that may or may not have been seen for years on various GNU/Linux desktops. This is great take from open source use it and make yourself better. They also added what appears to be a package manager that could help immensely in the business side of things. That is about where the awesome ends.
In initial sign up and boot it tries to trick you into only logging in with a Microsoft account. I just want a local account. I don't know about the many of you but I should easily be able to set up my desktop with out using their sign on account. That is not saying that you can't create a local account but it is rather difficult to find the first time even for a more experienced user. Once on the Desktop you can see many of their ideas of what a normal user would want to use such as a Bing search bar. Who uses Bing? Seriously is this the best way to get people to use it? When I search for items on my desktop I don't want your search function to immediately go out to the internet and use your terrible search engine to try and find that file pron.exe. I can't say no one wants that but no user with an understanding of what your built in spyware is wants that.
They still have that app store though... Good idea I hope they revamp it to make it more usable and curate a little bit in there. I am hoping that with some recent changes in Microsofts behavior, such as sharing coding studio on linux, will continue and they can see that this jump to force convergence isn't necessarily the best thing for users. As I have found with my Linux machines some convergence is nice but total convergence is not yet ready in almost any aspect even though they are pushing heavily for it.
Last but not least we all know they will still not get over the pre-installed bloat from OEMs. Granted this isn't an issue solely on Windows alone or through the upgrade process necessarily. It has been a problem for many many years on all platforms. Microsoft seems to be the least caring about this issue however. I don't need 2 new music players plus the samsung music store and about 30 different dvd burning softwares. Windows comes with all of this built in and the built in versions will undoubtedly be way better than what the OEM may provide. I only have to mention the brief sailfish debacle from Lenovo to remind many that this OEM software isn't always looked upon thoroughly enough to know what exactly it does for us or the OEM.
in conclusion Windows 10 is a vast improvement upon 8 but is still not back to the level of 7, 2000, or 95 was when released. Maybe through out time Microsoft will get to that point again.
In some facets of technology Microsoft has been moving ahead quite well, just look at Hololens and how awesome that will be. Then they announced Direct X 12 which before I have actually seen performance in an actual machine sounds pretty awesome a well. They then decide to "fix" Windows 8/8.1 and give you back a familiar layout similar to Windows 7 with a few enhancements that may or may not have been seen for years on various GNU/Linux desktops. This is great take from open source use it and make yourself better. They also added what appears to be a package manager that could help immensely in the business side of things. That is about where the awesome ends.
In initial sign up and boot it tries to trick you into only logging in with a Microsoft account. I just want a local account. I don't know about the many of you but I should easily be able to set up my desktop with out using their sign on account. That is not saying that you can't create a local account but it is rather difficult to find the first time even for a more experienced user. Once on the Desktop you can see many of their ideas of what a normal user would want to use such as a Bing search bar. Who uses Bing? Seriously is this the best way to get people to use it? When I search for items on my desktop I don't want your search function to immediately go out to the internet and use your terrible search engine to try and find that file pron.exe. I can't say no one wants that but no user with an understanding of what your built in spyware is wants that.
They still have that app store though... Good idea I hope they revamp it to make it more usable and curate a little bit in there. I am hoping that with some recent changes in Microsofts behavior, such as sharing coding studio on linux, will continue and they can see that this jump to force convergence isn't necessarily the best thing for users. As I have found with my Linux machines some convergence is nice but total convergence is not yet ready in almost any aspect even though they are pushing heavily for it.
Last but not least we all know they will still not get over the pre-installed bloat from OEMs. Granted this isn't an issue solely on Windows alone or through the upgrade process necessarily. It has been a problem for many many years on all platforms. Microsoft seems to be the least caring about this issue however. I don't need 2 new music players plus the samsung music store and about 30 different dvd burning softwares. Windows comes with all of this built in and the built in versions will undoubtedly be way better than what the OEM may provide. I only have to mention the brief sailfish debacle from Lenovo to remind many that this OEM software isn't always looked upon thoroughly enough to know what exactly it does for us or the OEM.
in conclusion Windows 10 is a vast improvement upon 8 but is still not back to the level of 7, 2000, or 95 was when released. Maybe through out time Microsoft will get to that point again.
I try to stay up with the latest technology and driving force behind computers. I am an avid GNU/Linux user but still maintain some use of windows.
Monday, June 29, 2015
Podcast of Things Episode 2: Game of Things
The second episode has been released! We talk about the Oculus Rift, Hololens, and Some good old fashioned video viewing fun. Also check out our new intro by Eric Rice. Send your feedback,questions, or suggestions to podcastofthings@gmail.com
I try to stay up with the latest technology and driving force behind computers. I am an avid GNU/Linux user but still maintain some use of windows.
Friday, June 26, 2015
Man vs. Machine: The Desktop
Check this out:
Speaking of innovative, let me tell you of a time when I was innovative while repairing a desktop computer. Three weeks ago I started work on an old Asus I picked up from a garage sale. The user couldn't figure out why the computer would turn on and then turn off immediately. But I knew the answer!
Here's a little Myth vs. Fact for you!
Myth:
Thermal paste is used to help cool down the processor so that it doesn't overheat.The more thermal paste, the better cooled the processor is.
Fact:
Thermal paste is ACTUALLY used to fill in the tiny microscopic imperfections that are created after machining the metals that exist on your processor and your heatsink. (If it were possible for the metal on the heatsink and the metal on the processor to be flushed 100% then there really wouldn't be a need for thermal paste.)
Too much thermal paste will actually create a barrier between the two metals, making conductivity much harder and dropping the efficiency of the heat sink exponentially. There's also the risk of spillage. Thermal paste on the motherboard is not good and can sometimes cause the motherboard to short out.
How much thermal paste do you need?
Anyway. Once I fixed this, the computer turned on and stayed on!
Huzzah!
But like the plot-line of any good thriller movie, my solution was immediately followed by another problem. The monitor would not turn on.
I will spare you all the details I went through troubleshooting this device including testing four different video cards and power supplies, replacing the RAM, and even re-seating the CPU, Heat-sink, and fan multiple times. . After two weeks of working on the dang thing, I gave up and decided to go play the Witcher 3.
You heard me. Go find a shirt. Or not.
Three days went by before I decided to suit up and head into battle once more. As I was turning on the lights and booting up my nearby server I noticed the 4pin CPU power connector on the motherboard that had nothing plugged into it.
Words can not describe how excited I was to see the screen light up with the BIOS menu. I'm sure my neighbors thought I had won the lottery or something. After I got over my initial excitement I beat myself up for not checking the CPU power connectors on the motherboard in the FIRST place!
Man: 1
Machine: 0
I'm a renaissance man. Not in the sense of "I love attending renaissance festivals" but more, "I know how to do a LOT of things." Think Leonardo da Vinci
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