MajorAap.com - A personal blog by Aprazeth
The ramblings of Aprazeth, an recent convert to minimalism, enthusiast of computer technology – with an outspoken opinion about everything and everyone.
Windows Vista, OneCare & Windows Mobile 6
Jan 25th
And I’m getting headaches. I have yet to see a succesfull synchronization between this lot. And yes I know Windows Mobile 6 is not final yet. Ugh.
It’s funny though. The same combo, only with Windows Mobile 5 works fine. And Windows Mobile 6 works fine on Windows XP SP2. Crapholio. Sometimes beta’s suck 
At least it’s Friday tomorrow… Woohoo!
Yesterday I went to bed at around 10ish. I think I lasted a good 6 seconds before I fell asleep. And still I feel sleepy so it won’t be a long evening today as well… Anyways, take care all.
Fiji
Jan 24th
… Remember that name as you will see it appear in the news very soon. It’s not only a country, but also the codename for a service pack for Windows Vista. Due for release… this year’s end with any luck.
Yes. This year. The same year Windows Vista is launched a service-pack is planned for it. Now you might wonder why Microsoft choose for this seemingly fast followup. I however completely understand.
See, Windows XP was released in 2002. Now, giving the support lifecycle they carry – a new OS was due for 2006. As we all know, that slipped into 2007. As that happened Windows XP Professional and recently XP Home and MCE’s extended support have been extended well into 2008/2009.
In addition to that, Windows Vista was in testing for 18 months. A lot of features got cut, that I personally – and I am sure others as well – would love to have seen in the product. WinFS and MAX come to mind most prominently.
Those are the biggest reasons for the SP. Not because of the ‘ major bugs’ as I have heard being whispered. Yes there are some issues in Windows Vista – but those are fixable with a hotfix and most of those issues are only evident in Enterprise usage. Home-users are not or barely affected – but hey…
Having said that, I still wouldn’t advise people to jump on right away. Sure the techy/geeky guys and girls will jump over – I expect them to. But for the average Joe / Jane – Windows XP will suffice. Especially since Service Pack 3 will be coming this or next year (I personally hope this year) There have been murmurs of some jumpover point for WinFS for Windows XP. I would love to see that.
Game-wise there isn’t much reason to jump over just yet as well. Most games do run under Windows Vista – but not any better then on Windows XP. In fact, some games run better on Windows XP. I am sure that given time and proper driver-development these issues will be resolved and maybe even reversed – but right now I’d say you are fine running Windows XP.
However, if you are like me – and want the latest and greatest; hop on! Even though the above is true, it’s stable (it is for me though…) and runs great. Just not better then Windows XP… YET!
We will see how it goes in due time.
Keep in mind boys and girls… Windows Vista is not yet due for launch until the end of January, which is in a few days. Retail versions are starting to appear, and hopefully so will the Windows Vista drivers. Please note that Vista already supports a LOT of devices out of the box already and in some cases you can use the WHQL drivers for Windows XP, albeit it with an additional warning and possible errors. Be sure to use the backup tool / System Restore!
Ugh, that was the geeky news… and now on to the personal tid-bit. I am tired and want to go to bed. Which I fully intend to do within the hour. Any case, doing OK here – just tired. Take care all.
Garbage pickup…
Jan 22nd
Yuck. They say that the feeling you have on Monday is actually a placebo, or a self-induced misery – as research has shown that the ‘Monday-morning’ feeling appears on pretty much any day provided it’s your first day at work of the week.
Well, I certainly had my Monday! Still haven’t received anything from my insurance agency yet so I’m going to call them tomorrow – again. I did however got the information for a legal-insurance from that same agency – which I asked for last Wednesday. Weird how fast they move when they can make money, but slow when they have to push it out.
In other news, tomorrow is garbage collection day again here and again none of my fellow inhabitants have made any effort in making sure it will be picked up tomorrow. Hell, some garbage-bags are still in the hallway. Eck!
I was kind enough to, again, empty the bin in the bathroom and toilet… I also noticed that the downstairs toilet was a huge mess, again. Seriously people, at least TRY to keep it tidy? Hell, I’d appreciate it if you just flushed!
*sigh*
Tired is what I am. I guess I’ll take 2 days off soon and relax a bit. Been a while since I done that. Ever since the burglary I haven’t really done so. Whatever. Haven’t had the time for it, I have been far too busy playing catch-up with my life – things that were way overdue.
Sometimes it all feels like quick-sand. They more you struggle and fight, the deeper you get. Nothing you do seems to help.
At work I opted for a new item to be introduced – a ticket-system. It should ensure that we all know what we are up-to, how much time was spent on it, and that things get done (in an orderly, controlled and planned fashion) I never would have figured it, but I have become a creature of habit – a near control-freak in regards to planning.
I just hate it when things pop up – without notice. Or when things fail. Of course, failure of software/hardware is always inevitable. But it bugs me when there is no backup-plan, DRP or even a document detailing what it did / was meant to do. Sure, I can document it all myself but there is very little point in documentation when everyone keeps changing it without notice or even reporting it. Hence the ticket-system. I love them 
Hell, at my previous place of work I helped (with implementation, training, reporting and/or changing) with 4 independent ticket-systems. And ALL of them contributed towards a more professional environment.
Now I know some might say that ticket-systems are only for those larger enterprises and corporations, but think again. As soon as more then one person does the work – it starts to make sense. Especially when some of the work is requested by or done on the behalf of a 3rd party. Ugh, I sound like an advertisement.
I guess I’ll go have a cup of coffee and chill out for a bit. Take care all!
Partay!
Jan 21st
Well, it’s Sunday – and sunny at that. Eventhough it’s 7 C it’s OK. I think I can rake this weekend up as a good one.
Friday I relaxed at home, which I absolutely and direly needed. Saturday’s I went over to visit mom – and of course, the ever frequent reinstallation of Windows XP. Fortunately that went without a hitch – and was running Windows Update smoothly just as I left.
I also noticed that in Den Bosch the busservice is now ran by Arriva – as opposed to the BBA before. I really don’t think it’s a good change. Apart from them using busses that look like they came straight out of a 70′s or 80′s movie, they also really messed things up. But alas, we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and see how they do.
Well as I was travelling home I got a SMS, telling me to come over to this place in Utrecht called Tivoli. Apart from having a bag full of food and drinks I wasn’t really prepared for it – but what the hey. So I go over to this place only to stand in line for more then an hour, get within a few meters of the door and to get told that they wouldn’t let anyone in untill others would leave. As they had handed out cards with numbers, the people with the lowest number would get in first. Well my number indicated I could enter after 1.30… Well, that buggered it for me. I hooked up with a kindred spirit and we went over to Stairway to Heaven. We had a few beers and went back over to Tivoli around 1ish. After waiting upto nearly 2.00 we finally could get inside. Only to hear my friends inside would leave at 3.00. That’s so the story of my live 
But I had a great time. And well I came home went to bed only to wake up at 10.30 with the scent of fresh laundry. Hmmm…
So all in all I had a good weekend. I just finished the laundry, had lunch and I am about to sort out this weeks paperwork. Shouldn’t take long but at least that’s done.
Next week I should be getting the official response from my insurance-agency in regards towards the burglary and whether or not I could get anything back (financially) I truly hope so. I really could use the money.
Asides that, nothing much on the planning – besides a visit to the barber. Well, I can smell my fresh coffee so I am going to enjoy that.
Laters, and take care.
I am dictating this…
Jan 17th
Way to lazy to type in this. I am now using the dictate option within Windows Vista Ultimate to actually have this text typed for me.
Even though is not really working perfectly just yet, it is pretty cool to use for your everyday stuff.
Well I got to run and play with this a bit more. But I must admit that it’s really fun and cool to use. Although it is annoying at times.
Take care.
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