TR Out Loud - December 12, 2008

Sonja Thompson: This year is quickly coming to a close, and you know what that means, right? VACATION TIME! This is my final TROLOV (or TR Out Loud on Video) for 2008 -- well, at least in its regular format. Next week, I plan to post a brand new Community FAQ video, and the week after that, I'm taking you all with me to Florida (show Flip video), where I'll recap some of the show's funniest bloopers since it launched in May of this year.

I'm Sonja Thompson, a senior editor for TechRepublic, and this is TROLOV for December 12th, 2008.

One of my favorite fellas inside TR made the top five discussions of the week, and after a little prodding, he agreed to talk about them via Flip video. Let's check it out, and then drill down the other top discussion of the week:

Here I am with Mark Kaelin, a senior editor for TechRepublic - and Mark, it looks like you are responsible for two of the top five discussions of the week! Can you believe that?

Mark Kaelin: I apologize.

Sonja Thompson: The first post is called "Stop unfairly comparing Vista to its predecessor and its successor." So, Mark, why do you think this discussion was so popular?

Mark Kaelin: Because the membership seems to have this irrational hate of Vista. So, whenever we talk about it, they like to argue about it. Usually it evolves into a name-calling, flame-fest.

Sonja Thompson: Vista creating a flame war? Noooo!

Mark Kaelin: Yeah.

Sonja Thompson: Well, your second post that made the top five discussions of the week is called "How do I... Tweak Windows Explorer to open in a directory of my choosing?" So, have you had a chance to check out what the TR community is saying about this post in the discussion thread?

Mark Kaelin: This thread is actually much better than the Vista thread, because there's a lot more constructive criticism, and a lot of "you can do it this way... also get a similar thing this way..." One person actually wrote a large description of his tweak to the registry file that changes all kinds of things, which I'm going to make an article out of.

Sonja Thompson: Oh, great! It doesn't break your machine, it actually helps, right?

Mark Kaelin: Right.

Sonja Thompson: Oh, good. We like those. Well, those How do I's are really good stuff - so, thanks again, Mark.

Mark Kaelin: You're welcome.

Sonja Thompson: And happy holidays.

Mark Kaelin: Thank you. Same to you.

Sonja Thompson: #3. "10 classic clueless-user stories." The TR community actually submitted these stories, and all we did was assemble them into this 10 Things blog post. Be sure to check out this post, and then chime in the discussion thread with a few clueless-user stories of your own.

#4. "The five most important IT trends of 2008." It's that time of year when we start recapping everything that's transpired and predicting what's in store for the new year. In this post, TechRepublic's Editor in Chief, Jason Hiner, looks back at some significant IT trends of 2008. Keep your eyes peeled for more of these year-end reviews within the Special Report: 2008 Recap.

#5. "MS08-067: Not updating has created a monster botnet." This post was written by Michael Kassner in the Network Administrator blog. According to Michael, Microsoft created an out-of-band update release of MS08-067 to fix a very serious vulnerability. And it was a good thing Microsoft did - find out why.

And the last post that I want to mention today - even though it's #6 (or #1 if you go by the total number of post) is "Friday Nite Music - Party Music," started by CaptBilly1Eye. In this off-topic post, the TR community listed their favorite party music in several different genres or party themes. CaptBilly1Eye even included Rave party just for me. And yes, I plan to pop in there with some of my favorites to keep the music party going. As always, I'll link to this discussion and the other top discussions of the week in the blog notes.

Usually, the phrase "all thumbs" isn't a thing, but for the TR members who are busy answering questions on the boards, it's GREAT! Here are the members who received the most thumbs up this past week. Due to the large number of ties for fifth place, I'm only going to list the top four:
Four people tied for 4th place: ThumbsUp2, neilb, TK, and Forum Surfer
Two people tied for 3rd place: 1bn0 and larry
Two people tied for 2nd place: Jacky Howe and bwilmot
And #1: OH Smeg

And here's a look at the 5 most active members in the past seven days:
#5: OH Smeg
#4: Nick Nielson
#3: Palmetto
#2: boxfiddler
And #1: jdclyde

I've left Tammy, TR s moderator, to her own devices again this week. I think Forest Gump was talking about Tammy when he said, "Life is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're gonna get." 

Tammy Cavadias: Hi, everyone. Hi, Sonja. This here I've got with me today that's helping me out - this is Electra. This is my other little min pin. You've already seen Winston - he's in the galleries. Well, we have no spam report today. Gosh darn it! I know you guys are just so disappointed. We just wanted to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday and a happy New Year. See you next year!

Sonja Thompson: There wasn't very much TR community participation this past week, and I'm just going to sum it up to holiday shopping and everyone working extra long hours to make room for some stress-free vacation time. That's what it is, right?

We did receive a voice message from none other than - you guessed it - CG IT.

CG IT: Here's your phone call for the week. It's CG IT, and since you haven't had a phone call, I'm making a phone call. That was my 30 seconds worth. Maybe I'll make a phone call tomorrow or maybe the next day. I think I'll wait until next Friday. Okay, bye!

Sonja Thompson: We also received one Geekmas tree photo, and it was sent in by TR member iconoclastic. He said, "In celebration of the season, and our own geekdom, we decorated an artificial tree with optical mice, USB adaptors, DVDs and a blinking Plantronics activity indicator as a 'star'. The mice are kept active through a USB hub on the laptop, which also displays a Merry Christmas screen saver and plays Christmas music MP3s. We're also placing received customer orders under the tree, like new keyboards, ergonomic mice and memory upgrades, until they're scheduled for installation."  Nicely done, iconoclastic!

This week's Question of the Week was submitted by Hal 9000: "What's your least favorite IT job, task, or responsibility?" Here's the deal, I'm going to keep this question open for an entire month, which means that I should - hypothetically - receive a lot of answers between now and then. Hey, if it helps, consider it a holiday gift from you to TR. Send your answers to trol@cnet.com.

The TR Pets of the Week were sent in by TR member mmangan: This is his rabbit (Cupid) and cat (Binga) meeting for the first time. Here's one of Binga with her brother, Peaches. And the last one is of Peaches, chillin' out for the holidays.

Many thanks to CG IT, iconoclastic, Hal 9000, and mmangan for participating in today's show. Also, thanks to Jim and S!ick for sending in e-mails. If I've mentioned your name on today's TROLOV, please let me know your mailing address (if I don't have it already) and your swag item of choice.

To earn some free TechRepublic swag, all you have to do is send me an e-mail with a comment, a question of the week, an answer to the question of the week, or a photo to trol@cnet.com. I also love those voice messages, CG IT! Do you know any Christmas carols? Our toll free number is (866) 414-CNET, that's (866) 414-2638. OR you can leave a message on our Skype voice mail option, and our Skype ID is tr.out.loud.

Just a heads up - when you send an e-mail (did you notice that I said "when" and not "IF"?) - when you send an e-mail, you'll receive my out of office response, because I won't be back in the office until the first full week of January, 2009. BUT, I'll be checking in periodically.

I'm Sonja Thompson, and this is TR Out Loud.