Email Steve Tucker
[Sunday] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday]
Sunday, May 23, 1999
When I started writing these notes I promised they would be sporadic. I think I lived up to that promise last week. It was a busy week and I just didn't have time to do the updates, with a couple of graduations, a graduation dinner and my trip to Charlotte for the Winston race. My friend Bob Thompson called to make sure nothing was wrong. I appreciate his concern.
Monday, May 24, 1999
Today I upgraded the video card on my primary domain control box for the NT network. This is a small box without that much computing power and when we put it together I forgot that I had this video card and therefore the machine was built with a plain ole vanilla video card. I remembered a few weeks back that I had purchased a Diamond Fire 1000 card from Onsale, so I installed it in that machine today and will put the vanilla VGA baby back on the shelf for an emergency.
I thought I would tackle my Jazz drive again today and once again I came up empty. I had this Jazz drive on another machine and when I added an internal scsi drive to the machine the chain was too long so I removed the Jazz drive. I also have a scanner and scsi printer connected externally to this machine. I have a scsi card in another machine but I have never been able to get the jazz drive to work on the new machine. It's the only scsi device on this machine and it always hangs the machine. I am beginning to think that just maybe the drive is hosed. The scsi tree software sees the drive and it shows up in windows explorer, but when you try to access the drive it locks my computer up. Don't know what's really happening here.
* * * * *
Someone told me about an article in last Friday's Wall Street Journal about Microsoft setting up a "hit squad" or "attack team" to battle Linux. The article said Linux had grown from a mere annoyance to a real threat. I guess this happened when some major PC manufacturers starting shipping boxes with this free open-code software loaded vs. the pricey Windows installation. Supposedly Microsoft was embarrassed about a speed test run early this year showing that Linux was more than 50% faster than NT on a typical entry-level desktop computer. Some folks feel that although Linux may lose a few simples tests to NT that overall Linux is a more stable operating system. This could be interesting.
* * * * *
I wonder if this page on driving and cell phone safety was put together for me?
* * * * *
Of course the internet was designed to harness the power of computers all over the world, but now some geeks at Berkley want to use the power of idle PCs everywhere to search for ET. This Star Wars craze must have got 'em going. SETI@home is a scientific experiment that will harness the power of hundreds of thousands of Internet-connected computers in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). You can participate by running a program that downloads and analyzes radio telescope data. There's a small but captivating possibility that your computer will detect the faint murmur of a civilization beyond Earth.
* * * * *
Check out a different view of the world with one of the webcams.
* * * * *
Here is a list of keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Windows for those days the mouse nibbles on your hand
Tuesday, May 25, 1999
How would you like to have dinner with Bill Gates?
For a contribution of $1 Million (that's six [6] zeroes) to Duke University you can have dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Bill Gates.
A year or so ago Mr. Gates, whose wife is an alumnus of Duke, gave this university a gift of $20 million to be used for scholarships and now the Gates' are helping the Blue Devils raise more than a billion bucks. The Dukies expect to raise more than $100MM with these dinners. Beats the heck out of Mr. Clinton's little coffees and rentals on the Lincoln bedroom.
* * * * * *
Winston-Salem will be overflowing with celebrities this week as the Crosby Celebrity Golf Tournament takes center stage in the Twin City. An autograph seeker's delight. Personally I will be making the trek back to Charlotte for the Winston Cup activities.
* * * * * *
The local Linux group (PLUG) is considering having an introductory Linux workshop. If you have an beginner's interest in this open code software you might want to check out their website and indicate your interest. You can send an email to their list at plug@wfu.edu, but you may need to join the list to be able to follow the discussions.
You can learn about Office 2000, Windows 98 Second Edition, Handheld and Palm-size PCs powered by Windows CE and more at the upcoming Microsoft eXtreme event, to be shown live on Saturday, June 5, in 31 movie theaters across the United States. Unfortunately, there is no North Carolina location. The closest opportunity is in Richmond, VA or Atlanta.
Are you the Windows expert in your office or neighborhood. Take this quiz and find out just how much of an expert you really are.