HutchTech Blog

Perhaps I'm getting ahead
of myself, but Intel's upcoming CPUs bode well for my mobility dream
coming true: Untethered for a full day; unworried about where I'll have
to plug in my laptop after 4-6 hours, ahhhhh....mobile nirvana. Okay,
maybe I exaggerate a bit here, you can check out eWeek's take with the
link below.

Uncle Bill has been pushing HW vendors this direction, focusing
particularly on his TabletPCs, but we all know that the key is in the
processor (just remember what the Pentium M class achieved). I'm tired
of jockeying for position at the coffee shop, just to score that
coveted AC outlet, maybe Bill is too. Now, whether your a fan of
TabletPCs, or laptops, imagine how workflow might change if you knew
you didn't have to find a plug in until you were ready to
sleep? I have my AC adapter for my cell phone next to the bed, maybe
I'll have to make room for my laptop on the nightstand soon.

Be still, my beating heart, 2006 is on the way.

- An impatient Hutch

Intel Switches Circuits to Save on Electricity

This post originally appeared on an external website

No, I'm not talking about pre-publication...or am I? Let me back up a bit...Let's say you've written the great American novel, or perhaps a treatise on the improbability of geeks finding non-digital companionship, and now you want others to read it--maybe even pay for it.

Now you have a chance to not only publish and sell your book, but to do it for free. That's right, friends, there is such a thing as a free lunch at Lulu.com. Lulu (I know, try to get past the name--their explanation of it is a bit weak in my book--no pun intended) allows anyone to take their tome and make it available to the world. Once someone purchases the book online, it's printed, bound, and shipped to them. You set the price (and profit margin), binding (everything but hard-bound options are currently available), etc. Lulu makes it clear that they're not the publisher, you are. They simply do the printing, process the charges, and ship your material.

I haven't purchased or published anything on Lulu yet, but who knows maybe it's time for me try my hand at publishing my thoughts--wait a minute, I'm already doing that here.

- Hutch

Lulu.com - Self Publishing - Free

This post originally appeared on an external website

PC Magazine is a thing of the past.  The best magazine I know of
is PC Pro.  You can buy it at bamm.com.  Don't buy a
subscription, it's too expensive.  The do in depth reviews of just
about anything you can think of and most of it is RELEVANT!

You know me, ever greedy
for more speed, I'm always looking for ways to easily and freely
release those precious bits of RAM, CPU cycles, and hard drive space. But I don't want to live in the world of GRC's Steve Gibson and run absolutely nothing on my desktop. Balance is never easy, young padawan.

I love widgets, and if you're a PC user, there's really no other choice but konfabulator.
This isn't a bad thing, especially since konfabulator is now FREE
(thank you, Yahoo!). Don't even bother with the imitators (avedesk,
kapsules, etc.) unless you're really ready to geek and tweak, and
crash. However, things are very different in the Mac world.
Konfabulator's been available on the Mac platform forever (and is now
free for Mac-heads as well), but with the entry of OS X Tiger and
dashboard, there's been some viable competition. Both dashboard and
konfabulator offer beautiful, mostly free widgets that are almost
always user-created; both allow you to customize your desktop with
whatever additional info/tools you find handy: weather, media, lists,
contacts, system info, etc., etc. The only real difference I found was
that dashboard widgets seem to have more internal
functionality. For example, if I use a dictionary or wikipedia widget
in dashboard it comes with its own viewer that functions within the
dashboard widget itself. The same type of widget in konfabulator looks
beautiful, but when I enter a query item, it opens an internet browser
window in my default browser--not so pretty.

So, I gave up on konfabulator for my Mac, that is until I went
a-speed-tweaking. As I searched for ways to reduce my CPU load (I am,
after all, trying to live on a 1.33 GHz PPC chip in my iBook until
2006...don't get me started), I decided to turn dashboard off. No other
change I've been able to make to my system has made such a singular
difference. Even after I had reduced the total number of widgets I was
using, dashboard was hogging upwards of 40-50% of my CPU cycles. How
rude! So, it's been back to konfabulator and free-CPU-cycle heaven.

Remember, friends don't let friends dashboard and compute.

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

Ladies and gentlemen, it
was with much disbelief, but little surprise that I watched the recent
demos of Windows Vista (post-Beta 1) and MS Office 12 today. When I
first saw some of the live demos over a year ago, I expected boorish
color schemes and unpolished icons. As late as this summer I was still
unfazed as I gazed upon the hideous behemoth that was Longhorn (now
Vista). But today, I have little hope of Windows Vista being the next
major leap in OS technology (ala Windows 95).

My eyes transfixed upon the unseemly colors and icons in Vista (click here for video),
and my heart sank. I couldn't believe the audience was cheering the
updated alt-Tab and 3D Window cascade--it actually looked more like a
police line-up than anything near Mac Expose.

I had hoped that the MS Office 12 demo would lift my spirits, but
instead it nearly caused me to faint--gone are my menus, replaced by
happy, animated icons of productivity. Graphical choice usually equals less choice. See the video for yourself here.

It seems to me that where the Apple folks have captured stylish
simplicity, my Microsoft friends have delved deeper into the
Fischer-Price toy box. Simplicity should not mean ugly. There's still
time, in fact quite a bit of time, to fix these things. I'll be
watching for better behavior on Uncle Bill's part. If there's no
improvement, he can expect a BIG whoopin' next year. Ouch!

- A Disappointed Hutch

You can read more and watch Billy's keynote here--but why?

This post originally appeared on an external website

Ladies and gentlemen, it was with much disbelief, but little surprise
that I watched the recent demos of Windows Vista (post-Beta 1) and MS
Office 12 today. When I first saw some of the live demos over a year
ago, I expected boorish color schemes and unpolished icons. As late as
this summer I was still unfazed as I gazed upon the hideous behemoth
that was Longhorn (now Vista). But today, I have little hope of Windows
Vista being the next major leap in OS technology (ala Windows 95).

My eyes transfixed upon the unseemly colors and icons in Vista (click here for video),
and my heart sank. I couldn't believe the audience was cheering the
updated alt-Tab and 3D Window cascade--it actually looked more like a
police line-up than anything near Mac Expose.

I had hoped that
the MS Office 12 demo would lift my spirits, but instead it nearly
caused me to faint--gone are my menus, replaced by happy, animated
icons of productivity. Graphical choice usually equals less choice. See the video for yourself here.

It
seems to me that where the Apple folks have captured stylish
simplicity, my Microsoft friends have delved deeper into the
Fisher-Price toy box. Simplicity should not mean ugly. There's still
time, in fact quite a bit of time, to fix these things. I'll be
watching for better behavior on Uncle Bill's part. If there's no
improvement, he can expect a BIG whoopin' next year. Ouch!

- A Disappointed Hutch

You can read more and watch Billy's keynote here--but why?

Google owns everything.
Let's just admit it. This blog is even posted (originally) to servers
owned by Google. We all want to find stuff through Google, and we want
all our stuff to be found there as well. Now you can search
for blog-based content without the interference of those pesky (and
let's face it, somewhat arcane) static web pages.

While the thing's being called "Bloogle", don't try bloogle.com--it
won't work. Oh, and to the owner of bloggle.com, get ready for some
heavy typo-based traffic. I bet your Google Ad Sense account makes some
money this month--ah, the irony.

- Hutch

http://blogsearch.google.com

This post originally appeared on an external website

Speed. Performance. The
rush of wind blowing through your hair... Well, my browser's not
exactly a convertible, but since I live so much of my life looking at
it, I need it to perform with all the horse power it can muster. I
remember tweaking IE back in the day, but most of those older hacks no
longer provide that fine-tuned feel as I cruise the info super highway.
Besides, supposedly we're all switching to Firefox, so we might as well
have the fuel injectors...okay, enough with the automotive metaphors.

I really do prefer Firefox, but I've always found it to be a bit
sluggish. Well, once I got rid of the glut of unused extensions (do I
really need weather on my status bar?) that seemed to help,
but in comparing it to IE (on my PC) or Safari (on my Mac) it still
didn't measure up. Then I found the Extreme Tech article Hacking Firefox: Speed Up Your Browser.
Just as I was about to give up jumping on the open-source browser
bandwagon, here it was, my answer. Kinda. Some of the hints are
retreads of my old IE hacks (oops, there go those auto references
again) which makes me wonder why they're not simply part of the
original Firefox code. Others will only apply to Windows users (though
there is some reference to Unix/Linux/Mac options). I simply downloaded
the Tweak Network Settings extension and let it do most of the heavy lifting for me.

It's my understanding that part of the reason Firefox is so
untweaked out-of-the-box is so that each one of us can personalize the
experience. Keep it smooth and simple, or overload it with
extensions--you make the call. Just don't do it in the slow lane.

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

I recently came across this Trend Micro report in a SANS newsletter which claims that employees take more risk on the net at work because they believe their IT department will protect them. While this might be what they said in the survey, the real answer is far more sinister: employees don't care if the business fails.

Let's face it, if you knew you wouldn't have been caught pulling the fire alarm at school so that you could postpone that math test would you have done it? The same moral dilemma faces those who use their PCs at work. Employees (particularly in larger corporations) don't see the real harm of network downtime--it's just a paid break. And if they don't see people getting fired for abuse (I'm not talking about porn here, but shopping, blogging, gambling, etc., etc.) what risk do they really take in abusing their Internet access? Besides, if you do happen to infect the network with the latest worm you're just a poor, little end-user and you're really, really sorry. And how many IT departments are actually going to track the thing down once the fire's been put out? Not many--the standard e-mail reminder to be more careful will have to suffice (oh, and remember to attach a copy of the corporate e-mail/Internet policy).

While I am not excited about Apple, Microsoft, et al taking a stronger oversight role when it comes to workstation and network security, businesses (particularly smaller ones) really do need help against their own worst enemy--themselves. Remember: Ignorance, my friends, is not innocence.

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

One of the few
disappointments I ran into with my Mac was the seeming lack of freeware
for it. Coming from the PC community, I was used to having lots of free
stuff thrown my way. While you could spend time searching Version Tracker or MacUpdate, I've come upon the motherlode of Mac Freeware: FreeMacWare.com. Sure, you might
find this stuff on the other services, and the overall organization is
not what I prefer, but the content and descriptions are excellent. I've
already overloaded my iBook with more stuff than I need, but at least
I've got the opportunity to do a few things more cheaply than I
previously thought possible in the Apple Zone.

If you're a PC user, you should still check this out--you might be
surprised at what you find, perhaps you'll even be tempted to join the
switcher/joiner ranks.

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

In some recent
discussions with colleagues...let me start over. While surfing and
chatting over lattes last night with some friends, we discussed how it
seems the Internet search engine has come full circle. First we had
Yahoo!. Now, I remember the days when Yahoo! was my friend. If I wanted
to look for "free games", just click on Computers >> Software >> Games >> Free/Freeware
and I'd see a list of 50 to 500 sites indexed for my perusal. I even
imagine that, at the time, actual people read the requests for adding
sites to the Yahoo! listings.

Then came Google. Don't get me wrong, I still love Google and use
it daily for certain types of searching, but believe me, you don't want
to waste your time typing in "free games"--that'll lead you to endless
links, many inactive, other's useless, some profane, a few simply
spyware spider holes.

So, now what are we investigative netizens to do? We still want
Google to have a list of anything and everything available to us, so it
has it's place, but now it's time to get a more trustworthy and
specific search when we're looking at a topic. Wikis have proven to use
the democratic process and allow for community information building,
but with a web search, we need something slightly different. This is
were tagging comes into play. Sites like www.shadows.com
are basically search engine communities built by surfers themselves.
You find a site you like and tag it for the team. For example, my
search for "free games" came up with about 100 sites and most of them
seemed to be tagged appropriately. While I know this system lends
itself to abuse by the self-promotional, it still seems the best middle
ground we have between the old Yahoo! lists and the complete Google
compendium.

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

I hate double-standards.
I also hate adolescent games. So, since we're talking about technology
and geekdom here, I guess I'd better just get over it and deal with
reality, huh?

Here's an example of what irks me: Take a look at a recent eWeek headline:
Apple Swats Mac OS X Security
. Seems harmless enough--unless you actually read the article. Here's a snippet about those seemingly pesky problems with OS X:

Apple shipped a Java security update to plug five flaws
that could cause system hijack, security bypass, data manipulation and
privilege escalation attacks.

These are NOT minor issues, they are not gnats to be
brushed away as a mere nuisance. Why is it that Apple gets such mild
headlines for its security woes while MS gets whipped? Oh, that's right
Apple is only 2% of the total computer market. Remember, you're talking
to a switcher here (I'm now at the 90% Mac-use stage), but that doesn't
mean my new found technology loyalty trumps reality. Perhaps that's the
problem: Geeks don't get enough love/friendship so they somehow
transfer such feelings toward their technology (Lord knows they don't
have enough time to become enamored with sports teams). So, nerdlings,
it's time to quit being loyal to the tech, and begin being loyal to
yourself. I use tech that works for me--I really don't care if it works
for anyone else. Besides, as we so often forget, if you get too wrapped
up in the tech it's liable to steal your pants.

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

If you'd like a
refreshingly honest look at the fiascos and foibles of iLife in the
Mac-world from a real Mac user read on...if you're a Mac
zealot/MS-ophobe/FOS (Friend of Steve) please step back from the line
in front of you which reads "Real World Beyond This Point."

I really appreciated Russell Beattie's comments
about his Mac life and the possibility that he'll become one of the few
switched-switchers by going back to a Windows PC. While I'm very
anxious to dual boot an Intel PowerBook with OS X and Vista, I share
some of the experiences Russell outlines. I'm still hanging in there
with my Mac (even though I'm ticked about exchange support--don't even
bring up Entourage or Snerdware), and I don't plan on re-switching
anytime soon, but it's important that those of you considering a move
to the Mac know all the pros and cons--the latter of which are often cleverly glossed over.

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

Back in the pre-digital-visual-media days audio replication was the goal. Anyone remember Is it live or is it Memorex?
While I still believe full motion video CG isn't completely able to
fool the eye (did anyone really believe Jar Jar Binks was real?), still
images are another story. Alias (no, not the Jennifer Garner TV show,
but the makers of Maya software) has a site that allows you to test
your image discernment capabilities called Is it Fake or Foto? Your humble Hutchster scored an 8 out of 10 on the test. See if you can do any better.

- Hutch

UPDATE:  Here's some additional thoughts from my very artistic, left-brained friend Dean K.:

Hi Dave,

I've been there before, and yes, it's amazing to see how critical
the eye is, even with people that are not "experts." The thing is, had
you taken the same test 30 years ago you would have gotten 0 out of 10
because you would have assumed it to be reality. Even after being told
they were composed images you would not believe it, no matter how close
you looked.

The problem it seems with artificial imaging, is that the more it
advances toward fooling you, the harder it must work to fool a
spectator whose perception advances at the same rate as our technology.
How beautiful is humanity!

- Dean

This post originally appeared on an external website

Back in the pre-digital-visual-media days audio replication was the goal. Anyone remember Is it live or is it Memorex? While I still believe full motion video CG isn't completely able to fool the eye (did anyone really believe Jar Jar Binks was real?), still images are another story. Alias (no, not the Jennifer Garner TV show, but the makers of Maya software) has a site that allows you to test your image discernment capabilities called Is it Fake or Foto? Your humble Hutchster scored an 8 out of 10 on the test. See if you can do any better.

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

Technology makes us stupid. I am, in part, talking about the kid with
the iPod, PDA, Razr, and laptop who doesn't know how to comb his hair
or even flip burgers; who can forget about ever making "Barista of the
Month"--that would require far too much complex thought, and quite
possibly both mental and physical dexterity from his atrophied brain
and bones. He'll never communicate in proper American English (forget
about the Queen), let alone speak without reference to whatever the
latest iteration of "dude" might be. Perhaps I shouldn't expect any
more out of him, and I'm probably just getting too old and crotchety (I
just turned 37, that's 111 in tech-years)--maybe he will grow out of it.

There is however, another tech user whose stupidity bothers me even
further--those who manage (and sometimes even develop) the various
pieces of technical infrastructure we use, but somehow cannot manage to live
with technology themselves. There are some, even a few who dwell
amongst our TechRepublic members, who so diligently want to maintain
their privacy online that they have lost sight of how to fool the very
system they've created. For example, some sites (including our beloved
TechRepublic) require a free "membership" in order to access certain
content. We all know and understand the business model--some of us have
even helped design and deploy such marketing schemes--and yet there are
times we don't want to have our every movement tracked and monitored.
Fair enough. But don't we have the technology to get around such
everyday mundanities? Didn?t we leave a backdoor? Have we not developed
the junk-only e-mail drop-box? Don't services like BugMeNot and
one-time "fake" e-mail addresses take care of this nuisance? I say,
yes, and then some. I'm writing this very article well ensconced behind
two firewalls and a random array of anonymous proxy servers--no one but
me even knows if I really wrote this and I'm not quite sure myself
(delve into that philosophical and epistemological conundrum, if you
dare). I understand anonymity and technology, but I refuse to become a
slave to either.

Let me move beyond the rant and make this observation: If the
technology exists only for technology's sake and not the benefit of
those who use it, then the technology has already defeated us. Use the
technology, don't let it use you. And by all means, don't let the tech
steal your pants--it'll only make you stupid, Dude.

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

That worm knocking on your firewall door could soon be looking to do
you a favor...or so the researchers at Immunity Inc. would have you
believe. I'm old enough to have participated in pro-active, positive
"virus" code-writing back in the 80's, so I'm familiar with the
arguments. And we all remember the friendly version of the Blaster
worm--sealing holes right after abusing them. Thanks.

The idea is commendable on many fronts, however my simplistic mind
comes back to one simple question: Won't any hole you leave for a
so-called friendly worm leave an open path for an "unfriendly" one? I
don't see how it can be argued otherwise.

Read the full article from eWeek here (sorry, apotheon, you'll just have to wait for the movie).

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

Yeah, I want one of the
new video-capable iPods--I'm only human. But that seems to be all we're
hearing about these days. The real story was Steve's "Act I" from
yesterday's presentation: the new iMac. Okay, not really the iMac
itself, but a new feature called Front Row. Front Row lets
you use your iMac as a full-screen media center. His simple comparison
of the iMac's new remote with those that come with Windows Media Center
PCs said it all. I might be able to navigate the complicated options on
WinMC, but my wife, my parents, and even my kids, don't want to. And let
me just get it out now because you won't hear me say this often: Steve
Jobs was right, this is the way to deal with media at home. Because the
iMac allows for an external monitor to be plugged in, that means it can
connect to more recent video displays (READ: Digital TVs). Why would I not want to use an iMac as my media center--the cost is about the same.

I won't be rushing out tomorrow to make the move, but it won't be
long--my ReplayTV is dying and it has a monthly fee which my new media
center won't. Now if I could only get Steve to release Front Row for
download to my iBook.

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

Very often we can't have
it both ways. You can't have your cake and eat it too. You can't be two
places at once. You can't bite the hand that feeds you and expect to
eat well. Such are the dilemmas that face Apple and iTunes.

If
you go back several Apple Events, you'll note that each time Steve J.
brings up the very idea of subscription based music downloads (ala
Napster, et. al.), he mentions that this just doesn't work because
people want to own their music. He's right (I know, I know--this is the
second time in less than a week I've had to say that). Now we have a
video iPod. But if I hear Steve-o say that subscription-based video
content won't work because people want to own their video, I'll have to
heartily disagree. Here's why: Most of the time we don't want to own
video content, we simply want to time shift it (SEE Blockbuster,
NetFlix, Tivo). Every once-in-a-while I take something from my PVR and
burn it to DVD, but typically I just want to watch a show on my
schedule and not the network's. This is why Apple must change it's
video model immediately.

Forget
about music videos. Anyone who wants a music video will pay $1.99 to
have it. It should be $0.99 (or less), but that's not the model. It's
not my cup of tea, but I could understand someone wanting to own a
music video.

The same could be said of movies. However, note
that movies aren't for sale (yet) on iTunes, and the quality of the
video you can get might look good on an iPod, but I've heard that if
you full-screen it on an actual computer, you're going to be
disappointed.

Steve needs to re-think his model when it comes to
video--lower your price, perhaps even make it subscription-based, and
even impose viewing limitations (just like Comcast's On-Demand). This
is what time-shifting consumers of visual media are looking for.

Sell us our music permanently, Mr. J; let us subscribe to video content. We can have the best of both worlds.

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

A recent article in the International Herald Tribune (Microsoft polishes image with security suite - Technology - International Herald Tribune)
touts the joy and sorrow that will be the Microsoft Security Suite.
Regardless of how you feel about the imperfections in MS source code,
you can't say Uncle Bill didn't wait a long, long time for someone else
to clean up his mess. I find it interesting that AV companies didn't
jump on the spyware bandwagon sooner, and even more interesting that it
took Bill's purchase of Giant AntiSpyware and free distribution of
their real-time protection to get the AV industry's attention. From all
the hubbub, you'd think that MS was about to monopolize the protection
of their own inherent weaknesses--hmmmm. The very thing everyone whines
about them not doing (cleaning up their security holes) is the very
thing everyone is now complaining about them doing. I'm not just
talking about Symantec, et. al., I'm talking about the tech-whiners out
there who are never happy with anything anyone successful does--envy
hath no restraint.

But what about our growing 2%-ers over at Apple? While the Mac OS
does tend to be more secure by default (yes, the advantage of all that
well-oiled BSD/UNIX code does come in handy), I get the sense that it's
day is soon coming. [Queue Phil Collins In the Air Tonight
here.] I also believe that most of the current and upcoming security
issues we'll all face, irregardless of OS, have more to do with holes
we open ourselves (whether on the network, or within the software we
choose to install). It was interesting that Apple recently dumped
Virex. I don't believe this was an arrogant attempt to say they're 100%
secure (we've all seen the massive security updates this last year),
but rather that they're preparing to introduce their own specific,
system-wide security package, hopefully ahead of a massive attack. I
know, I know, who ever heard of a company be pro-active. Just remember
you read it here first.

All this begs the question: Is security the loophole that allows
Bill and Steve to reign in more power, or is it a belief that in-house
security leadership builds a better worm-trap? I don't know their
motivations beyond the bottom line, but I would venture to guess that
they don't make such moves lightly.

Let me close with a note to the open source community: I use your products on my machines regularly (both PC and Mac--in fact, ClamXav
watches over my Mac at this very moment). I'm no developer, and I try
to support (yes, monetarily) those projects that I've found most
helpful. Now may be your time to shine in the realm of security. I have
no doubt it's a difficult and thankless task, but it could be your
chance to do something the big boys at MS, Apple, Symantec, McAfee,
etc., never dreamed of--serving the common good.

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

Okay, so I don't truly believe that open source stifles innovation, but
as Microsoft begins to take baby steps toward using open standards, I
begin to wonder...what if? What if Microsoft opens its office standards
completely and industry begins to embrace them--will the anti-Bill
forces continue to rally against MS Office? And what if Microsoft
actually updates its office standards, you know "innovates", will it
require an act of congress to move these standards forward? What if
zealotry lends itself to stifling innovation because of industry
politics instead of end-user value?

While I'm happy that
Microsoft is beginning to show some understanding of how open standards
can help them, I'm uncertain if those calling for such openness are
ready to embrace their arch enemy at all. Will openness and innovation
work for Microsoft? I don't know, but I'm sure hoping it works for all
of us.

- Hutch

CNet: Microsoft Opens Up Office

This post originally appeared on an external website

I always wanted to be one of the cool kids. Now I can pretend to be one--at least for the next few minutes. I begged Stevie J. to make his ultra-hip Front Row software available to all Mac users and not just purchasers of the new iMacs. Well, someone heard my cry even as Mr. Jobs ignored me. I found the Front Row Enabler on MacUpdate.com. If you have a Mac (I'm using a G4 iBook), simply download Front Row from the apple site, get Front Row Enabler and download Pacifist as well (you'll need it to force Front Row to install on a non-iMac). Follow the instructions and viola, you're sitting in the Front Row. You could go out a buy one of the hip 6-button remotes from the apple web site, but I find that Romeo, the Front Row plug-in (from WildWeasel) and my bluetooth phone work just as well.

Now, for you Win-o-philes out there, you've not been forgotten. No, I'm not talking about the WPF Back Row experiment (don't even waste your time on it), but I am talking about Media Portal. It takes over for myHTPC/Meedio as the freeware version of Windows Media Center. Give it a spin.

If you haven't played with a media center yet (on your PC or Mac), you really should. Most of us want a nice clean way to view our media, and even if you never hook your computer up to a TV or external display, having a media center to show off photos, share music, or list your movies is just plain cool. Get your sunglasses and temporary tattoo now.

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

It has come to my attention that readers of a certain stripe
who peruse these prosaic paragraphs (particularly on the
TechRepublic.com iteration of these postings) are having a bit of
difficulty with apprehending the tone with which these words are
written. For that I apologize, and offer now some basic instruction in
how to better decipher the (hopefully) apparent wit within these pages.

Let's begin with some definitions:

Sarcasm: noun; the use of irony to mock or convey contempt : his voice, hardened by sarcasm, could not hide his resentment.

Hyperbole: noun; exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

For example, when I recently proffered the headline "Outsourcing Stifles Innovation"
I did so with the intent of using both hyperbole and sarcasm to make a
point about Microsoft's recent foray into open standards. I never
intended to offer it as a statement of empirical truth. While I am
certainly no journalist, it is my understanding that a headline is
supposed to draw a reader in, and not simply convey information. I
believe this would be particularly true of a blog post; even more so if it tends toward imparting opinion.

So, to all my zealot readers
out there, please keep reading, please keep commenting, but by all
means, please recognize that a little good humor can help the medicine
go down.

Sincerely Yours,
Hutch

Whether you've cut up your credit cards, clipped your cable, or even joined a cloister at the local Luddite monastary, I.D. theft and cyber-security are still going to impact your life. Take a look at the latest help from cNET: The Personal Security Dashboard. Even a casual glance at this on a regular basis will give you a leg-up on the bad guys. So dust off that password and head down to the local library for a gander.

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

So maybe it's not really a virus, and maybe you'd have to be daft to open an unsolicited iChat attachment, and maybe OS X forces you to enter your admin password every time you install something, and maybe this is an issue for all 'NIX based systems (UNIX, BSD, LINUX, etc.), and maybe it's been all over the tech news. But all these maybes add up to one thing in the mind of non-techie user community: Macs get viruses too.

This isn't the digital Pearl Harbor I've been anticipating, but it's making me think hard about putting ClamXAV back on my precious iBook. You can read the sordid tale at
The Register by clicking here.

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

I'd heard about this issue several months back, but dismissed it as an Intel chipset problem, but lo' and behold Uncle Bill's legion of driver-smiths have struck again (did anyone else suffer those intolerable USB-reboot issues back in the Win98/2K days?). Evidently an MS driver component keeps your laptop system (particularly Intel Core-Duo models) from properly sleeping if certain USB devices are attached at the time. This, naturally, leads to your battery draining more quickly than it should--and you thought memory leaks were bad.

Anyway, read the deftly crafted tome at cNET by clicking here.

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

Probably not. However, you do owe yourself a look-see at search.live.com, the latest attempt by Microsoft to wrest control of the universe from Google.

The first thing you'll notice is the sparseness of the interface and the lack of Microsoft blue. Once you complete a search, google-ad-sense-esque ads appear on the right hand side of your screen. I noticed that they even change as you scroll through your results. At the same time, you'll note that you can use a slider to increase or decrease the amount of detail each result displays (ala most RSS readers). I especially liked the more fluid scroll bar--the further down I pushed the slider, the faster my results zipped by.

All cosmetic niceties aside, what remains to be seen is the validity and usefulness of the results. It'll take a lot to get most of us to abandon our Google lifestyle, but this live.com thing is starting to make some headway.

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

An update on SOLOGIG FRAUD.  It is march 22, 2006 AND I AM STILL BEING BILLED by this fraud.  When calling Career Builder 888-688-2237 I got to speak with "KAZZ" whose directl line is770-576-3055 she claimed only "Josh" has direct contact with SOLOGIG but there is no way to contact him directly.  When I asked for a supervisor I was told no supervisors are in before 9:30 am American Express after 30 min on the phone with Steve ID# 2655  March 21, 2006 there is "nothing AMEX can do" and cancelling my card will not stop SOLO gig from rebilling me.

Fear not loyal HutchTech readers, I have not disappeared into blogosphere oblivion.  While I know all of us have the same 24 hours a day, I will lay out my excuses (briefly) for not keeping up-to-date, and my plans for the future here.
 
First, the excuses: I started a new job with a local Sheriff's department as a crime analyst.  CSI it's not, though I do have two 23" monitors.  While my official duties are not support related, the job is indeed tech-heavy and there are ample opportunities to provide tech support to the detectives and patrol officers around me.  The job is challenging, rewarding, and I have an amazing boss and fellow analyst to work with.  Needless to say, learning my new role has kept me more than busy.
 
Now for the future: I have been promising a podcast forever. I still plan on delivering on this promise--just not in the near future.  I'll be updating the blog 3-4 times a week, and I do plan on giving it a general facelift (for those who read this at hutchtech.blogspot.com)--not much I can do with the TechRepublic version, though it's not bad to begin with.
 
Anyway, thanks for your patience.  I hope to reward it soon.
 
- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

Because of my recent job change, I'm back to splitting time between my PC and Mac (something that Apple's new Boot Camp will soon let me do on just one machine).  So I've been slowly re-acclimating myself to the PC and was elated to get the latest edition of PC World's 101 Fabulous Freebies.  I've already been able to ditch the over-bloated Adobe Reader and begin using FoxIt Reader for PDFs.  As I spot other gems in the list, I'll be sure to let you know.  You can do the same in the comments section.
 
- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

Canadians...they dwell among us,?camouflaged by nature's gift of a similar language and culture.? Okay, so maybe William Shatner isn't exactly a threat to national security, but with all the talk of illegal immigration these days it only makes sense to keep those Canuks safely ensconced north of the border.? And now, thanks to Skype, you can keep those mayonnaise loving mounties where they belong AND talk to them without all those outrageous phone bills.

From now until the end of 2006, you can call any U.S. or Canadian land-line telephone via Skype (using Skype OUT) for FREE.? I've played with Skype (and Gizmo, GTalk, Yahoo! Messenger, and MSN Messenger) before, and while voice chat is nice if you have geeky friends who also have the know-how to set up PC-based VOIP it actually works pretty well.? But chances are that Grandma and Grandpa (or even Mom and Dad) aren't going to mess with it--they already have a phone.? Well, feel free to release your inner-geek and call them from your laptop at the coffee shop this year.

Granted, you're not going to be getting any incoming calls from them without laying out some cash, but free is still free, whether you're using dollars or...whatever that funny-money up there is called.

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

Just in case you haven't heard, Media (whatever that might mean) is dead.? Well, okay, it's barely breathing.? Well, perhaps its actually just morphing.? Either way, you need to watch the three (free) episodes of "The End of..." which recently aired on CBC (yes, from our friends north of the border), and which are now available for download at www.cbc.ca/theend.? The three episodes cover the end of TV, Radio, and Print Media.? While your TV is probably the least likely to "die", the fact that you'll have to watch these on your computer (and that they're even available outside of YouTube) should tell you something.

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

I loved architecture and engineering in High School. I wasn't great at it, but I enjoyed it. It probably didn't hurt that our teacher, Mr. Woods, was a fantastic and passionate educator. It just so happens that I was learning about drafting right as the transition from pen-and-paper to CAD was taking place, so I saw the best of both worlds. Now Google is allowing me to re-live those salad days and design things that actually look nice with yet another free tool: Sketch-up (http://sketchup.google.com). You've really got to watch some of the demo videos to appreciate how awesome this tool is. Not only can you create three-dimensional objects, you can place them in other spaces, say, Google Earth.

While some of Google's recent beta launches have been met with skepticism, perhaps deservedly so, sketch-up may just help Google regain its reputation for giving away really cool tools.

- Hutch

This post originally appeared on an external website

As a new "recruit" to Tech Pros Group, I was asked
to give my firsthand opinions regarding the program on this website due to some earlier
comments made by others. I discovered Tech Pros Group in an online ad from
CareerBuilders.com. The part of the ad that interested me was the possibility
of a paid internship after going through the program.

I am in my early 40's and I was teaching at a private
undergraduate school in an area completely unrelated to IT (ancient Near
Eastern studies [ANE]). I had gone as far as I could without my Ph.D. in the
field, and while I was accepted to a leading university's doctoral program
(humanities department), I began to feel as if several more years of study and
more than $100k of tuition was a bit much. I loved teaching, but at this point
in life I didn't think that a doctorate was the best way to go - especially
when the job market in the field is so limited.

I had a background in MIS from the 80's and mid-90's, but I
had gotten out of it to pursue my BA and MA. I began looking for new career
opportunities when I saw the Tech Pros Group's ad. It seemed ideal: the chance
to learn a new subject that was enormously marketable (computer networking) and
the possibility of a paid internship to help me get started - plus job
placement. Well, it is said that if something seems too good to be true, it
probably is. I applied, figuring that I had nothing to lose at this point. I
needed a career change, but I could not take the time needed to go to a
technical or law school (both fields with excellent job opportunities,
something that the field of ANE studies doesn't offer.) I applied and found out
more about the program.

I was skeptical (who wouldn't be?), but I figured that an
investment of $5k for the program and housing for 3 months wasn't the greatest
risk in the world. Besides, Tech Pros Group was in excellent standing with the
Better Business Bureau and members of the Irvine, CA Chamber of Commerce for a
couple of years. In the worst case, I would be out $5k. In the best case, the
program would be challenging but good and I would have a new career that didn't
take 3 years or so to develop.

I was accepted into the program for the summer of 06,
resigned my teaching position, and went to Irvine California, filled with hope and
trepidation, not knowing what to expect. I found that with every passing day,
the certainty that I had made a good decision in signing on with Tech Pros
Group increased. The first day was spent discussing career objectives, which
was something I didn't expect. I thought that we would be treated as buckets
into which instructors dumped IT knowledge. Instead, everything that is done is
to increase each person's viability in the marketplace. In other words, career,
not pure knowledge, is the goal. To that goal Tech Pros Group has candidates
work on job interview skills through multiple interviews, resume
assistance, and hours of hands on lab experience.

Not everyone remained after the first week, and I had to
make a decision early on whether or not I wanted to stay in the program. Some
left feeling that they could get their certification in MS or Cisco anywhere
and not have to pay Tech Pros Group for it. I understood such an argument,
however, Tech Pros Group is not a certification mill. Certification is crucial
and the focus of the first few weeks, however, students are also presented with
excellent lectures and "at a distance" guidance in the hands on lab
work. I say "from a distance" because the philosophy is that there
will be no Tech Pros instructor with the student on his or her jobsite or
interview. Therefore, the students should be used to having to learn for
themselves and take initiative in finding answers and solving problems. The
instructors are there to answer any questions, but it is up to the student to
do all that he or she can before asking. Again, the emphasis is not the
accumulation of IT knowledge, but rather the applicability of knowledge to the
end of a successful career in IT. This was my biggest surprise, and I am glad
that I signed up. 

It is a lot of work (even by graduate studies standards), but
it is not impossible. It is not for everyone, but then, nothing is. For me this
is turning out to what I was looking for and a more. Based on my own
experience, I would commend someone looking for a new opportunity to consider
Tech Pros Group. I am glad I made the decision to come here, stay here, and
make the most of this chance.

- Jules T.