Essential Installs on a new PC

So you have a fresh shiny new (or renewed) Win7 install.
All the Windows Updates are finally complete, and you've put your favourite anti-malware on (ESET, is my winner here).

But what else is required to make this a working machine?

Here's my list:

1. Open Office
2. PDF reader (why the hell is there not a good simple alternative?)
3. Flash player (yes, unfortunately Youtube has too much good material these days - buried in amongst the cute kittens).
4. Filezilla (ftp)
5. Logmein addin
6. VPN client (specific to a client's setup)
7. Firefox and the English spelling checker add- in.
8. WinLAME2010beta (appears to be pretty stable) for ripping easily to mp3 (VLC 11 is pathetic, W Mediaplayer 12 failed miserably)
9. AccessRuntime.exe

Others I can think may be useful in the future..

1. HP driver detect ActiveX

Things we no longer need (as the builtin tools do a stirling job)...

1. Unzip utils
2. Screengrabbing tools
3. Wifi management tools
4. Powershell equivalents

What are your suggestions?

Watch out for those FREE add ons when downloading legitimate utilities..

I used to wonder why customers had so much crap on their PCs, but then I realised that I always take the time to UNtick the free extras that are often offered with downlaods for things like Adobe Acrobat, Flash palyer etc..
Ill add examples to watch out for here:

No, no, no, no, you DON'T want any Norton stuff (espeically when you have paid for your much better ESET anti malware suite - you have, haven't you?)

The BEST Concertos ever written IMHO

My number one

RIES, F.: Piano Concertos, Vol. 3 (Hinterhuber, Grodd) - No. 7 / Grand Variations on Rule Britannia / Introduction and Variations Brillantes

Naxos News article


Recently heard (26 Feb 11), and not yet obtained

SCHARWENKA: Piano Concerto No 4 in F minor - Stephen Hough (pno), CBSO/Lawrence Foster (Hyperion CDA 66790)
The Romantic Piano Concerto, Vol. 11 – Sauer & Scharwenka

Did you know you can simply email your blogs..?

But where's the fun in that!?

--
Bruce Metelerkamp
027 318 5567

Herbert, Harrison & Associates Ltd
PO Box 13056, Hastings, 4155
Office Phone 06 8704330

My adventues with a dying iMac

Do the words beachball, frustration and divorce conjure up anything specific for you?

Over the last three days, I have managed to get most of the family photos back from the brink of the iMac precipice.
The mac had been slowing down in general, but suddenly stopped responding whilst uploading raw images form my wife's camera.

Now just to set the scene, prior to the mac I had periodically burnt photos to CD and assiduously moved the burnt folders to Aaarchived.
Then, with the arrival of the mac, I moved all the photos there about a year ago.

In the meantime, I had set up the nas as the backup device, and was just starting to get it usable and reliable before politely suggesting it as the central repositiry. Alas, too late.
Now I have had to use DiskWarrior which managed to get most of the directory structure rereated, and copied the folders off to a usb drive, and to the nas!
So from here, rebuild the mac, set up Rsync for nightly copying, and put the burning responsibility firmly back on to the users' shoulders.

For my own use:

Mac OS X Server “Boot up” Controls

—by Bob O'Connor, bob@justbob.com

19 November 2002
Mac OS X is a powerful operating system, but there are times you need to reboot your Mac to perform disk checks or other maintenance. Here is a chart of keystrokes you can use to control the way your Mac boots (hold down the combination until the listed effect takes hold):

Combination		Effect
Command-S		Boot into Single User Mode
Command-V		Boot using “Verbose” mode (shows all kernel and startup console messages)
X		Reset startup disk selection and boot into Mac OS X Server
Shift		Boot into “Safe Boot” mode, which runs Disk First Aid. A reboot will be required afterward.
Option		Boot into Open Firmware to select a boot device
Command-Option-Shift-Delete		Bypass internal harddrive on boot
T		Boot into Firewire target disk mode
C		Boot from the internal optical drive
N		Start from the Network (NetBoot)
Command-Option-P-R		Reset Parameter RAM (PRAM) and non-volatile RAM (NVRAM)
(mouse button)		Eject (internal) removable media

TiVo doing it backwards?

In the latest "In Touch" advertising self-promotional paper waste that comes with the Telecom bill, the image of the Tivo is reversed - as in mirror-image. He he.
Nonetheless, it looks a good neat addition to the stack above the TV, especially if I can remove three other boxes. VCR, DVD, Freeview, HTPC. Oh, hang on, I still need the VCR (for some old kids' favs), and the DVD hasn't been replaced. Oh, and the TiVo has no usb or ethernet.. so I need to stream from the nas and or usb device. So I still need either a HTPC, or some other media player thingy :(
So that means I'm not getting Tivo just yet.
But wait, my MythTV box is nearly ready, and the nas is working nicely. That will have to do. AND I will be able to browse and stream net radio :)

Want Laserjet service manuals?

Just register here http://www.scribd.com
Worked for me.
(Why bother keeping a copy yourself , that, like me, you are bound to mislay?)

Orcon still the way to go (even with TiVo coming on Xtra)

 Mark: Hi, my name is Mark. How may I help you?
 Bruce Metelerkamp: Looking at bb plans..
 Mark: Good morning Bruce
 Bruce Metelerkamp: I have 1GB with calling AND A STATIC IP address for $31.06 per month. Can you compete?
 Bruce Metelerkamp: and $2 per GB over
 Mark: I am sorry but we no not offer such a plan with 1 GB of usage. We do have 500MB for $29.95 but the static IP would be an additional $20 per month
 Mark: othe next plan up is the Go, at $39.95 for 3 GB
 Bruce Metelerkamp: so no TiVo for me then!
 Bruce Metelerkamp: (yes, I can see the prices on the website)
 Mark: To be honest i am not sure whether TiVo would be compatible with static IP anyway.
 Mark: the technical details have yet to be announced so am unsure as to how it will work in conjunction with other services
 Bruce Metelerkamp: ok - ill wait and see, thanks
 Mark: How much usage do you use in a month, if yo udo not mind me asking
 Bruce Metelerkamp: 1.0 to about 2.5
 Bruce Metelerkamp: but would be more if tivo works!
 Mark: usage incurred on Tivo does not go towards your overall broadband usage for which you are billed
 Mark: it is excempt
 Bruce Metelerkamp: ah. of course - except if I can still use a tivo while with orcon...
 Mark: what do you use the static for? are you running as server
 Bruce Metelerkamp: well, yes, alsways had it, and just now setting up a nas with a little web server.. easier than dyndns etc
 Mark: ahh right
 Mark: is your phone line with orcon as well?
 Bruce Metelerkamp: yes
 Bruce Metelerkamp: gotta go
 Mark: ok, you have a great day
 Bruce Metelerkamp: tx
 You have disconnected.