Vista Start menu forgets to open with keystroke

This isn't an issue with start menu never opening. It's just an issue with Start Menu not opening with either Windows key or Ctrl-Esc. Apparently, the "fix" is to open task manager, end task on Explorer.exe, and run Explorer.exe again.

Changing hard drives with Clonezilla

For whatever it's worth, System Restore on Vista didn't know the "new" c: drive that I upgraded to, and system restore failed.

Right-click My Computer, Properties.
System Protection (left side)
Uncheck anything said as (Missing) and make certain C: that is (Local) is checked, apply, (yes) ok.

Now System Restore functions properly. Also, you can use this to put System Restore on an optional other disk.

I'm not ranting on Lauren

So, OK, I am, but in defense of Lauren ...


and bless him, Seth Weintraub makes good points, but in the end, it doesn't matter.

Look, I get it that the AMD processor isn't top of the line, nor is the RAM not super fast, nor is the LAN 100Mbps and the WIFI 802.11g. On the other hand, when Lauren starts getting online to the Internet from her ISP at greater than 8Mbps or starts moving files between her server and her laptop... Oh, wait. I get it that more could be had for the price, but did Lauren choose poorly because of any of the above? That, my friends, is in the eye of the beholder. Is Lauren likely to play Crisis? Probably not. Is Lauren going to be connected to any source that provides gigabit? Probably not. Yes, yes, it's nice to have the assurance that it's there when you could use it, just like Garage Band is. I use Vista Home Premium. It's not that horrible. I connect to my domain, use Outlook, even Terminal Services.

There are people who demand more. Those are the people who will choose their own operating system and supplier. There are then the other people who don't care. They buy what they can afford, and walk obliviously through the realm of techdom because they can, and to them, it works. Because it's just what they think they'll ever need.

How Good *is* Vista Anyway?

To hear them tell it, Vista is the be all and end all of security. The charts are massive in size and point out some things that perhaps zealots don't view as part of their dogma.

You tell someone that Global Warming is a made-up thing, and you are deemed, essentially, a heretic. You tell someone that Vista is better than Linux, you better be right"unbiased", whatever that means.

Do I like Linux? Yes. Do I think it's rock solid stable? Yes. Do I think it's all that an OS can be? Depends. My experience with MythTV left me unimpressed. I'm reasonably comfortable in almost any PC environment that I encounter. Mac, Linux, BSD, etc. doesn't make any difference to me. Spending hours and days compiling stuff may be fun for some people, but for me, it's quickly losing its luster. I *know* I'm going to have to get Vista, if only to support it for the people who give me the money to do so. Based upon reviews, I think I'd personally think about upgrading to Vista Home Premium for the MCE.

Do I want to roll Vista out in my office environment? Not if I can help it. I was on Windows 2000 Professional across the board even until 2005. You want to know why the uptake was so slow for XP? Simply the same as XP->Vista. WHY? Now, I'm on XP and I don't want to go back, to be sure, but I tell you, Windows 2000 Professional *was* perhaps the best OS of its time.

Back to the ZDnet article. The comments are telling, and as much as I don't want to admit, very persuasive on Microsoft's behalf: If Microsoft is claiming so little vulnerabilities in its first 6 months for the shipped package it ships (15GB OS???? FIFTEEN GIGABYTES?) versus hundreds of vulnerabilities that, say, RedHat ships, -- even if not installed, even if not used -- it does beg the question, "How much junk/buggy/vulnerable software is worth including in a package?" I'm coming to a saner conclusion. Stop distributing distros with buggy software. Leave it to the end user to put their own software on their system. At the very least, it appears that a Linux distribution should come with appropriate drivers and xorg and an appropriate package manager/install utility and basically nothing else.

Come to think of it, that PC vs Mac Bloat seems all the more apropos if you take it into consideration of what Linux "provides" you with on the install CD. Or maybe Microsoft Vista vs Linux is the eternal feud that cannot die.

Nonetheless, keep it coming. I long to read about the next volley.

Dude, Dell's back with XP.

Whether it makes a difference to me or not is immaterial. However, for full disclosure, Dell went back to offering XP on select models of PCs. Still, Microsoft's going to force no new sales of XP in January 2008.

Apparently, though, owners of Vista Business and Vista Ultimate (at least Volume License purchasers) continue to have downgrade rights to XP Pro, so there *is* hope if you're delaying. Now, finding the XP Pro install media might be a bit harder.