Another victory for Windows 7 today. I decided to install my Can-o-scan LiDE 35. I went to the Cannon website only to find no mention of 64 bit or Windows 7. It is early yet for the OS so I look to the Vista page. No Vista 64 support at all.
I searched and found this site. I downloaded an asian version of a different model LiDE and it magically worked. I scanned my document and went about my way. It is funny that so far the worst software for 7/64 happens to be IE 8. It locks up all of the time and I have to reset the settings to default. I never change anything in IE so I don't know what happens. I only use it cause it is set to open in my left side monitor so I can watch HULU without bothering my right screen. No loss really.
On a different topic....
Sometime Saturday afternoon I walked into my 7 year old son's room only to be met with a stench like an airshow port-o-let. After a good deal of yelling I finally got the story that he had got up in the night to go to the restroom and did not make it to the bathroom. He whizzed in his bedroom floor and then went back to bed. This apparently happened the night before he went to grandma's house for a few days. We did not go into his room for anything so we did not notice. He had also taken some blankets and pillows to cover up the smell. I was furious but it got worse.
While throwing away blankets and toys that would never be clean enough for me again I noticed something else. My wife and other child were having trouble breathing. I noticed a sweet smell in the hallway and decided to ask my 7 year old what that was all about. Six lies later and I finally get the story. He had found the family sized Spf 50 sunscreen spray bottle and decided to spray the floor and walls of the office, hallway, and living room. The asthmatics in the house were choking and had to leave the house while I cleaned up the near invisible but fragrant mess.
By the way if you ever have to clean up a massive urine pool in your house don't go to the pet store and get the pet urine remover. This $8 bottle of magic turned out to be just rubbing alcohol. We could have gotten 2 bottles for a dollar at the drug store but live and learn I guess.
The room still smells bad. I guess we will have to rent a steam genie or something to fix it. New carpet is the answer.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
More about Windows 7 x64
I think my last post was a bit premature. I have been working with this way too much lately. I have discovered that my bargin bin HP Workstation xw8200 computer has a giant flaw. The SATA controller is the old slow type of SATA not the cool fast SATA. I have ordered a new fancy fast controller so I will have fast hard drives once again. This will mean another Windows 7 install but no big deal.
Some of my network issues involve me using the Windows 7 version of Remote Desktop software. It apparently cripples Windows 2000 systems running plain old Terminal Server. Once I connect my server maxes out the processor. My music stops flowing and I get sad. I disconnect from the remote session and all goes back to normal.
Every few hours my sound just dies. I have to go to the control panel, select my speakers, and change the default from DVD quality to telephone quality. I get an error that another application is controlling the sound card and then the sound returns. I put the setting back to DVD and it works for another few hours or days.
I am still waiting for Firefox and Adobe to get with the 64 bit world but I am not holding my breath.
Some of my network issues involve me using the Windows 7 version of Remote Desktop software. It apparently cripples Windows 2000 systems running plain old Terminal Server. Once I connect my server maxes out the processor. My music stops flowing and I get sad. I disconnect from the remote session and all goes back to normal.
Every few hours my sound just dies. I have to go to the control panel, select my speakers, and change the default from DVD quality to telephone quality. I get an error that another application is controlling the sound card and then the sound returns. I put the setting back to DVD and it works for another few hours or days.
I am still waiting for Firefox and Adobe to get with the 64 bit world but I am not holding my breath.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
The sad bits
I will stick to the facts here. Software that runs natively in Windows 64bit versions is hard to find and sometimes buggy.
Trying to break out of the 4 gig world I bought a refurb dual processor workstation class 64bit system. The thing runs great in Windows XP 32 bit. Windows 7 x64 is so bad that I am considering a change to Vista.
Adobe flash, Firefox, and my laserjet driver are all missing from the x64bit world. I am very dissappointed. If I play a music file in MediaMonkey at the same time I am doing anything else the song skips so bad I just turn it off. This is bad news for me. My oldP4 with 1.5 gig of RAM would read music files for hours at a time without missing a beat.
I am mad and out of options. If I put a 32bit OS then I lose my RAM upgradability. If I stick to this I will have to buy a new printer and an iPod.
This is distracting and I think I will just let it be for now.
Trying to break out of the 4 gig world I bought a refurb dual processor workstation class 64bit system. The thing runs great in Windows XP 32 bit. Windows 7 x64 is so bad that I am considering a change to Vista.
Adobe flash, Firefox, and my laserjet driver are all missing from the x64bit world. I am very dissappointed. If I play a music file in MediaMonkey at the same time I am doing anything else the song skips so bad I just turn it off. This is bad news for me. My oldP4 with 1.5 gig of RAM would read music files for hours at a time without missing a beat.
I am mad and out of options. If I put a 32bit OS then I lose my RAM upgradability. If I stick to this I will have to buy a new printer and an iPod.
This is distracting and I think I will just let it be for now.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
For the Benjamins
I am on my second of the requisite 10 listens of the latest Dream Theater album "Black Clouds & Silver Linings". Because it usually takes so long to catch on to the regular DT album I would normally refrain from commenting so early in the process but I will make an exception.
Call me what you will but I love the song "Wither". It is awesome. It may be the only song under ten minutes on the whole 3 CD set but I won't hold that against them. The song is radio ready but still full of DT style.
There is one song that starts with a ticking clock for 18 seconds and I hate that. I know it is art but that is dead driving time. The song is "The Best Of Times" and it has a violin and piano so it is not the average DT song but then the guitar starts. Man, these guys are great. The run up reminds me of Styx. I don't know that is on purpose or if it is the fact that I heard Dennis DeYoung on Bob and Tom this morning.
The other songs cannot be commented on yet. They are long and I need time to hear them several times before I can say something about it. I will say that the 3rd CD has songs from the 1st CD without words. You can imagine the folks that will crank this up and read the words in a really high quality background music karaoke.
Call me what you will but I love the song "Wither". It is awesome. It may be the only song under ten minutes on the whole 3 CD set but I won't hold that against them. The song is radio ready but still full of DT style.
There is one song that starts with a ticking clock for 18 seconds and I hate that. I know it is art but that is dead driving time. The song is "The Best Of Times" and it has a violin and piano so it is not the average DT song but then the guitar starts. Man, these guys are great. The run up reminds me of Styx. I don't know that is on purpose or if it is the fact that I heard Dennis DeYoung on Bob and Tom this morning.
The other songs cannot be commented on yet. They are long and I need time to hear them several times before I can say something about it. I will say that the 3rd CD has songs from the 1st CD without words. You can imagine the folks that will crank this up and read the words in a really high quality background music karaoke.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
No distortion
In Ms. Armstrong's English 2 class I read the book, The Pearl. This taught me that a stories have conflict and resolution. The conflict could be between 2 people, between people and nature, or a person against their self. There should a crescendo building to a powerful denouement and ending with a resolution settling the central conflict and any dangling peripheral conflicts. Ms. Armstrong also taught us all that white eye shadow make-up makes a frail white woman look dead.
Real life does not have crescendo outside of classical music. Denouement occurs at random moments that often don't fit the story. Resolution is elusive. Some of us seek the tying of loose ends but disappointment is more likely. You may never know what happened to Eugene the leg breaker. You may never see Jason from up the road to find out if he ever fulfilled his dream of becoming The Junk Yard Dog.
The talk amongst us normal people tends to be of the failures and missed opportunities of those around us. In retrospective slow motion we detail the should've, would've, could'ves of grand figures and coworkers alike. Milling and fussing over nothing of great interest or importance.
I was a believer in the building conflict and eventual resolution theory of life at one time. I guess this is a flaw of youth. I know now that if you work harder all you do is get old faster. If you build something that people want then most people will want it for free. If you a tyrant then you will find an outlet for your tyranny. Never attribute to malice what can better be explained by laziness, ineptitude, or outright ignorance.
At the start of this post I was a non face-booker but now I am. This post is even more relevant after having chatted and face-booked with those from my past and present that happen to own a computer and have a need to reconnect. People from the crowd come at you with questions, pokes, and offers of fruit. Just what I needed, another facet of my life that requires my interaction and offers only intrusion and train wreck observation style satisfaction. I am hooked.
Real life does not have crescendo outside of classical music. Denouement occurs at random moments that often don't fit the story. Resolution is elusive. Some of us seek the tying of loose ends but disappointment is more likely. You may never know what happened to Eugene the leg breaker. You may never see Jason from up the road to find out if he ever fulfilled his dream of becoming The Junk Yard Dog.
The talk amongst us normal people tends to be of the failures and missed opportunities of those around us. In retrospective slow motion we detail the should've, would've, could'ves of grand figures and coworkers alike. Milling and fussing over nothing of great interest or importance.
I was a believer in the building conflict and eventual resolution theory of life at one time. I guess this is a flaw of youth. I know now that if you work harder all you do is get old faster. If you build something that people want then most people will want it for free. If you a tyrant then you will find an outlet for your tyranny. Never attribute to malice what can better be explained by laziness, ineptitude, or outright ignorance.
At the start of this post I was a non face-booker but now I am. This post is even more relevant after having chatted and face-booked with those from my past and present that happen to own a computer and have a need to reconnect. People from the crowd come at you with questions, pokes, and offers of fruit. Just what I needed, another facet of my life that requires my interaction and offers only intrusion and train wreck observation style satisfaction. I am hooked.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Shelves and Substitues
Joy is a rare condition. It is not a natural state. With no forces acting upon us we don't revert back to joy. Some are able to relax but while that may lead to joy it is no guarantee.
Chip tells me that self awareness is key to life. I want to be oblivious for a while. As disengaged and adynamic as I perceive myself to be I still feel I need to recoil further from the outside forces. I find there are few things I can say to identify myself or my beliefs these days. I feel trapped and I am forced to communicate. I am not talking about the fact that Chip butt dials me at least twice a day but seriously, stop that. I don't even answer anymore because it happens all the time.
I don't think of it as isolation but insulation. I can't image what real people with real problems do. I am scrambled but it is my fault. I have no biological excuses or terrible tragic thing to blame. Its just me.
The songs seeing me through these days are:
That's Not My Name by The Ting Tings
Soulful Christmas by James Brown
Curbside Goodbye by Emery
That's right, I own the Thriller Album and shut up! Statistically you either own it or are lying about not owning it.
Chip tells me that self awareness is key to life. I want to be oblivious for a while. As disengaged and adynamic as I perceive myself to be I still feel I need to recoil further from the outside forces. I find there are few things I can say to identify myself or my beliefs these days. I feel trapped and I am forced to communicate. I am not talking about the fact that Chip butt dials me at least twice a day but seriously, stop that. I don't even answer anymore because it happens all the time.
I don't think of it as isolation but insulation. I can't image what real people with real problems do. I am scrambled but it is my fault. I have no biological excuses or terrible tragic thing to blame. Its just me.
The songs seeing me through these days are:
That's Not My Name by The Ting Tings
Soulful Christmas by James Brown
Curbside Goodbye by Emery
That's right, I own the Thriller Album and shut up! Statistically you either own it or are lying about not owning it.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Living with 7
I installed the Windows 7 beta to see if I liked it more than Vista. I did not have to live with the software so I put it on a junk drive on my laptop and used it only long enough to see that it had some skills.
At the same time I installed Jaunty Jackaloupe on another junk drive on the same laptop. Very nice but it was not a long term option because of the software I use. I did notice a big difference. Cellular modems turned out to be a surprise for me.
In my day job I have to setup and install Verizon PC5750 air cards on Windows 2000 and Windows Vista. There are bugs and tricks to the VZmanager software and you have to force it onto either OS. On Windows XP you can use the standard download software and you are fine.
I borrowed one of these aircards one weekend and decided to see if the new OS flavors were up to the challenge. Ubuntu identified the new hardware and I was online in a few seconds. The rest of this post will chronical the steps I took to get online with Windows 7. For the tech-weak knees turn away now.
I had decided that my 2gig, 2 year old laptop ran Windows 7 better than a new 4gb Dell Optiplex with Vista so I would try a longer term Windows 7 trial. Thanks to rare and brilliant move by Microsoft to allow for an unheard of Release Candidate trial period of Windows 7 I decided to commit.
I upgraded my Dell Latitude D620 to 4gig of Ram and a 7200/8mb cache/260gb hard drive and installed Windows 7 RC. I won't deny that there are a few odd "vista" like issues with 7 but overall I like it. That is now that I fixed the major problem. Verizon Air Card!
I downloaded the VZAccessManager from the Verizon website. I ran the setup and it asked for me to insert the card into the PC. I popped it in and nothing. Windows 7 had a message that it did not have the drivers for my new hardware that it called Pantech PC card. The install failed telling me that the OS was not supported. I figured that the VZ software worked but that the card install failed.
The normal course of action would be to go into Device Manager and update the drive to the drivers manually. I found that the Pantech folder was not in Program Files. I drilled down to \Program Files\vzmanager\drivers\pc5750\install\ and only found setup.exe. I ran this but it did not do much of anything but tell me that the OS was not supported. I heard this somewhere before.
I googled and googled but did not find much info. I guess that is why I am writing this.
I took the setup.exe out of the install folder and ran it on my Windows XP desktop. This created a nice directory filled with drivers! Yeah. I copied the files to my laptop. I used device manager and updated the drivers individually. This solved one problem. Windows 7 could now see the modem right but VZaccess manager still would not use it.
Using a tip from a posting online I uninstalled VZaccess manager and killed the modem in the network connections folder and rebooted.
This worked!! I was able to create a custom dial up connection and make a connection.
To recap the Verizon Air Card install on Windows 7:
Download the VZAccessMgr software from Verizon's website
Install the software on a Windows XP machine.
Copy the PANTECH PC Card folder from the XP machine to the Windows 7 machine from the Program Files directory on the XP box.
Insert the PC card into the Windows 7 PC.
It will fail to install the drivers.
Go into the device manager and update the drivers for each of the ! error devices with the drivers in the PANTECH PC Card folder.
Reboot.
Go into the network sharing center and setup a new connection and select Dial Up Networking.
All I put in was the #777 as the phone number, no password and no username.
This worked!!!
Milage may vary. I am pretty lazy about this sort of thing but I appreciate those people that aren't lazy about documentation. I hope this helps those in this situation.
At the same time I installed Jaunty Jackaloupe on another junk drive on the same laptop. Very nice but it was not a long term option because of the software I use. I did notice a big difference. Cellular modems turned out to be a surprise for me.
In my day job I have to setup and install Verizon PC5750 air cards on Windows 2000 and Windows Vista. There are bugs and tricks to the VZmanager software and you have to force it onto either OS. On Windows XP you can use the standard download software and you are fine.
I borrowed one of these aircards one weekend and decided to see if the new OS flavors were up to the challenge. Ubuntu identified the new hardware and I was online in a few seconds. The rest of this post will chronical the steps I took to get online with Windows 7. For the tech-weak knees turn away now.
I had decided that my 2gig, 2 year old laptop ran Windows 7 better than a new 4gb Dell Optiplex with Vista so I would try a longer term Windows 7 trial. Thanks to rare and brilliant move by Microsoft to allow for an unheard of Release Candidate trial period of Windows 7 I decided to commit.
I upgraded my Dell Latitude D620 to 4gig of Ram and a 7200/8mb cache/260gb hard drive and installed Windows 7 RC. I won't deny that there are a few odd "vista" like issues with 7 but overall I like it. That is now that I fixed the major problem. Verizon Air Card!
I downloaded the VZAccessManager from the Verizon website. I ran the setup and it asked for me to insert the card into the PC. I popped it in and nothing. Windows 7 had a message that it did not have the drivers for my new hardware that it called Pantech PC card. The install failed telling me that the OS was not supported. I figured that the VZ software worked but that the card install failed.
The normal course of action would be to go into Device Manager and update the drive to the drivers manually. I found that the Pantech folder was not in Program Files. I drilled down to \Program Files\vzmanager\drivers\pc5750\install\ and only found setup.exe. I ran this but it did not do much of anything but tell me that the OS was not supported. I heard this somewhere before.
I googled and googled but did not find much info. I guess that is why I am writing this.
I took the setup.exe out of the install folder and ran it on my Windows XP desktop. This created a nice directory filled with drivers! Yeah. I copied the files to my laptop. I used device manager and updated the drivers individually. This solved one problem. Windows 7 could now see the modem right but VZaccess manager still would not use it.
Using a tip from a posting online I uninstalled VZaccess manager and killed the modem in the network connections folder and rebooted.
This worked!! I was able to create a custom dial up connection and make a connection.
To recap the Verizon Air Card install on Windows 7:
Download the VZAccessMgr software from Verizon's website
Install the software on a Windows XP machine.
Copy the PANTECH PC Card folder from the XP machine to the Windows 7 machine from the Program Files directory on the XP box.
Insert the PC card into the Windows 7 PC.
It will fail to install the drivers.
Go into the device manager and update the drivers for each of the ! error devices with the drivers in the PANTECH PC Card folder.
Reboot.
Go into the network sharing center and setup a new connection and select Dial Up Networking.
All I put in was the #777 as the phone number, no password and no username.
This worked!!!
Milage may vary. I am pretty lazy about this sort of thing but I appreciate those people that aren't lazy about documentation. I hope this helps those in this situation.
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