Zune Tips Weblog

Microsoft seems to be a company that imitates other companies that have great ideas. They imitated the Windows OS from Apple, tried to get market share in in the iPod/iTunes space (with the Zune product), and also tried to jump on the PDA bandwagon by producing a competitor (Pocket PC/Windows Mobile) with the Palm OS devices. Recently, Microsoft seems to be competing with Google to gain their success in the area of online advertisement via search engines and web-based applications. In fact, some people have joked with Bill Gates during interviews that he wouldn’t say the word “Google” as they were a prime target for Microsoft’s “innovation” plans.

In the area of cell phones, Microsoft did have a lead on other companies since their Windows Mobile OS was a perfect crossover product for the “Smartphone” (PDA/Phone) devices. Apple recently entered the phone arena with their iPhone product, which impressed the general community with their slick, highly graphical OS and applications. However, it seems that Google is trying to one-up Microsoft and Apple with their upcoming Android project, which will provide a new, free OS for modern Smartphone devices. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve noticed that most pre-teens have desktop computers that were old hand-me-downs from their parents or relatives. Usually someone in a person’s extended family likes to upgrade their computer every year or two, so there’s always an older computer available for someone’s kid. In my case, I usually give my older computer to my father-in-law who welcomes something that’s a bit faster than what he currently has.

Recently, my niece has been trying to install her Webkinz and Barbie software on her ancient Windows 2000 OS machine without any luck. It seems that most software these days require at least Windows XP, so her computer is getting really too old. She also has trouble browsing certain web site that require special Flash plugins, and the older hardware (slow disk drive, minimal memory, etc.) isn’t helping much. Unfortunately, her parents can’t afford to buy or upgrade her computer, so my wife and I decided to help out. Read the rest of this entry »

On one of the Zune Forums I visit, there are numerous postings by people who brag about getting “free stuff” from Microsoft and various online vendors. From what these people explain in their postings, they are not really getting free stuff, but rather are being deceitful and dishonest so they can steal from vendors. For example, one person explained how he lied to Microsoft Support so he could get them to send him a new set of Zune Premium Earbuds. He also encouraged others to do the same, as he was proud of his accomplishment. Another poster bragged how he lied about not receiving merchandise he had ordered so that he wouldn’t have to pay for it. Note, that most of these posters are adolescents, so it doesn’t surprise me that they feel proud or entitled to this “free stuff”.

So what ever happened to personal integrity or being an honest person? Why do young people brag about stealing, or wear their thievery as a “Red Badge of Courage”? I would certainly hope that these few individuals who are lying and stealing are in the minority of their peers, but I’m afraid that is not the case. Aren’t parents teaching their children to be honest people?

Of course, it’s this kind of stealing from corporations, defaulting on credit card debit, etc. that contributes to the increasing cost of consumer goods. I also believe in Karma, so what you do to others will eventually come back around and get you. Read the rest of this entry »

The season finale for the TV show Jericho aired last night, and it was also the last episode for the series since the show was canceled by CBS. I actually liked the finale, as it gave some closure in certain areas, left a few openings for pondering, and didn’t give you a dissatisfying cliffhanger ending. I now have to think of Jericho as a two season mini-series, since we won’t be seeing any more episodes. It’s too bad, since it was a great show and I certainly would like to know how the US civil war pans out and how the people of Jericho survives.

Now, some fans are talking about doing more letter writing and sending nuts to the CBS executives (as they did when Jericho was canceled after the 1st season), but I don’t think any amount of campaigning will bring back Jericho for a third season. The networks are interested in viewership, and Jericho’s ratings were not much higher the 2nd time around. The only hope, is that Jericho might find a home on the cable network SciFi channel, so we’ll have to see if that happens.

So what show does CBS plan to fill in Jericho’s time slot? Looks like a new episode of CSI: Miami … oh boy.

The software that drives this web blog is called WordPress, and it a fantastic web server application. Not only is WordPress free, but WordPress.com will host your web blog free of charge. It has some minor limitations, but essentially you can have a nice web blog up and running at no cost to you. In addition, there’s hundreds of themes available to give your web blog a custom look and feel. If you want even more control (to customize your theme look or add in a user Forum system), you can always use the WordPress software on your own domain server system.

Just in case you’re curious, below is the web visitor stats for the last several weeks. You can see here, that over a period of 3 weeks there was 4,300 hits per week (which is quite amazing). However, the visits seem to drop off and peak again over the next several weeks. Why is that, you might ask?

It seems that the web blog hits increase whenever I make postings on the various Zune forums that I monitor. Sometimes, I’ll answer several questions regarding video conversions, etc. and it seems that viewers will click on my web blog link in the signature tag. Also, I have an RSS feed for this web blog that lists the headers for the most recent postings, so I get a higher hit count whenever I make postings. So, the key to having a good, successful web blog is frequent attention (by making regular postings) and letting others know you exist by different means (e.g., posting on forums, etc.).

If you’re interested in creating and maintaining a nice web blog, you should check out www.wordpress.com for more details.

It seems that people using the Internet feel they have anonymity, where no one can find out who they are. So, some people will use applications like Bittorent to download illegal music or software applications, make forum postings with nasty or belligerent comments, and do whatever they want thinking no one will know it was them. Let me inform you, that you are never anonymous on the Internet. Whenever you visit any web site, the site’s server records the IP Address of the computer you are using for the connection. It can also record what kind of browser you are using, and the operating system of your computer. So what, you might ask? Well, the IP Address identifies YOUR specific computer on the Internet network, so you can definitely be tracked down. Your particular Internet Service Provider (ISP) knows exactly what your IP Address is, so they can very easily identify you if someone tells them you are doing abusive activity.

For example, someone tried to make a comment posting on this web blog with the message, “LOL YOU SUCK”. Fortunately, the WordPress software that I’m using requires new postings to be moderated by me, so this comment never made it to my web blog for others to see. Apparently, this person thought he or she was anonymously making this posting, however, I know exactly who their ISP is, what their computer IP Address is, and in what city and state they live in (since WordPress records such information). I also know the email address of their ISP to which I can send notification of abusive activity. So guess what, “bob@bobmail.com”? Your ISP may be contacting you soon about your adolescent behavior (or maybe your mommy and daddy will have a little chat with you?). LOL.

So those of you surfing the web from your work computer, be aware that your employer can easily record and track the web sites you visit. Of course, there’s anonymity software available where all your Internet activity is funneled through their independent servers (which is slow), however, don’t be surprised if they are tracking your activity and could be forced to release that information by court order.

So the moral of the story is that you are definitely not anonymous when surfing the web, so be careful what you do and post on web forums (especially you, Bob).

This is totally off the topic of Zunes, but it’s a slow day and I thought you might find it amusing (or even informative!).

Up until a few years ago, I really never traveled very much for my job. I probably flew on a plane a total of 6 times over a 15 year period. With my latest job, I actually travel quite a bit visiting customers throughout the USA helping them with issues and problems. After the first 6 months working for my current employer, I was on a flight to Sacramento, CA and I noticed during check in that I was upgraded to a first class seat. I asked the person at the ticket counter about this, and she said I was automatically upgraded because I was a Silver-Elite Frequent Flyer and they had an empty seat available in First Class. What a pleasant surprise, since I didn’t know I had traveled enough that year to have earned such a privilege, and it would be the first time I’d ever flown first class.

First off I get to board early with the other first class passengers, and my seat is huge and roomy. There’s two of us seated where normally there are three (in coach class), and my legs aren’t crammed up against the seat in front of me. As the other passengers are boarding, the special flight attendant designated for first class says to me, “my name is Danielle, and I will be attending you during the flight. How should I address you?”. Huh? I thought. I responded with, “… I guess you can call me Dave”, but later I thought I should have said, “you can call me Master-of-the-Universe!”. She then asked if I wanted anything to drink, which I responded, “a cup of coffee would be nice”. Quickly she handed me a steaming cup of coffee (in a ceramic mug) and then began to attend to the other first class passengers. Read the rest of this entry »

When the stage6.com web site was still up and active a few months ago, I came across the 1995 SciFi TV show called Space: Above and Beyond which I vaguely remembered being about fighting Marines in the year 2063. It was a Fox TV Show produced by the same producers as The X-Files. I downloaded all 24 episodes and after watching one or two of them every evening, I concluded that it was an amazing show. The story follows the “Wild Cards”, a Marine squad that is battling unknown aliens which attacked two civilian exploratory colonies on distant planets. The episodes, acting, and special effects were absolutely wonderful for 1995, and are still good 13 years later. It’s unfortunate that it only lasted one season, but I’m sure producing such shows are very costly. Out of curiosity, I did a web search for the shown and found several fan web sites. One site had several diary postings from an actor that portrayed a “Chig” (the nickname given to the enemy aliens) which were very interesting. He writes about what it was like to film certain episodes and how the main actors treated the “lowly” indirect actors hidden away in the alien space suits. It’s interesting to read how conceded some of these actors are, but then again not too unbelievable considering what you read in the celebrity magazines.

If you can find episodes of Space: AAB I do suggest you download or get the DVD and watch them. If you’re a SciFi fan like me, you’ll be wishing there was a season two!

I spend a lot of time visiting and participating in different Zune Forums, which is great if you want to get useful information about your Zune. If you ever have a question, you can most likely get it answered on a good forum. So, what makes a good forum? I’ve often wondered that, since I’ve noticed that some forums are very active with postings while others seem almost dead. Of course, a highly active forum with lots of members posting good stuff would naturally draw in more members, but how do you get those members to join in the first place if initially there are no members? A real catch-22 situation.

Now, anyone these days can put up a forum at a nominal cost. There’s lots of free php-based forum software that will essentially self install and get you up and running in less than 1-hour. All you need is a domain site hosted by a provider with php and MySQL capabilities (in most cases), which would cost roughly $80 per year. That’s why you see forums popping up covering just about any topic you could imagine. And, who do you think runs these forums? I came across one newly started forum where the forum creator stated that he was going to switch to a new, permanent domain name, “… after I talk with my Financial Advisor (my Mom)”. So obviously, this forum owner was living with his parents and most likely a teenager (or at least let’s hope so!). Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re like me, you’ve probably downloaded, installed, and removed hundreds of freeware or shareware applications. Recently, I went through that exercise when looking for a good video converter for my Zune. So after uninstalling most of them, I had to go through my Start Menu and remove all the dead shortcut links. I also sorted through the “C:\Program Files” folder on my PC and removed all the left over files from the uninstall procedures. So was my system totally cleaned up now? No, not yet.

Your PC’s Registry File contains settings for all the software that you’ve installed on your system, and in most cases those settings are not removed when you uninstall applications. I knew I probably had hundreds of defunct entries in my Registry File, so it would be a good thing to clean it up to improve my system’s overall performance. Read the rest of this entry »