The Rusted Musket

So being that I am a computer enthusiast and I work in IT, I thought it only right that I do a mini-review of the Windows 7 beta. Especially since I’ve used every Windows operating system since Windows 3.1 and I am a IT Professional… Lastly I don’t mind Vista but it could use some serious improvements and Windows 7 might just do that.

Windows 7 had a somewhat rough start (unanticipated demand for the beta drove the servers offline for almost a whole weekend) but Microsoft seemed to respond well to the demand and added more infrastructure for the beta and expanded the amount of available downloads. Anyway I ended up downloaded the beta at work on Monday. It was a bit tough to get the download as the links were not really working at the time, I ended up having to find a direct link to the 64bit version in the forums. After I found it, I started downloading. It took a while since the file is 3.15GBs but it downloaded correctly with no problems.

VMWare Workstation is a really great tool for testing so I figured I would try out my test in there. I created a VM and used the Vista 64bit as the template, setting it for two processors and 1GB of ram. I must say that I am surprised by how little needs to be done to install Windows 7 (well Vista too), you just need to put in the CD key and a couple other things and away it goes. I had no problems in installation and about a half hour later I had Windows 7 in my VM.

My first impression of it was pretty good. The desktop looked clean and the taskbar got a nice new look. It reminded me a lot of the KDE look. The icons for the quicklaunch portion got a bit larger and show desktop is a little bar on the far right instead of a quicklaunch icon. One thing that they added that I really like is the quicklaunch icon for Windows Explorer. Its nice since I spend a lot of my time in the explorer window and that is one less click for me (yes I know it could have added it by myself). I like how the clock shows the date by default now too, that means less work for me to find the day and less work is always good.

Clicking on the “start” menu shows a very Vista like start menu, but come on what did everyone expect. I’ve always liked the Vista start menu so thats no problem for me.  They did change the shutdown button though which was a gripe I had with Vista. It now has shutdown as its own button and a little arrow to access the other options.

Other notable changes are that the Security Center has been changed to the Action Center which has more options and uses. Basically it is used to help maintain your computer.

The last thing I’ll cover is the changed to the UAC, which I’m sure you’ll all agree needed to be changed. They changed it to work more like the security sliders in Internet Explorer, there are 4 options from full off to full on with a non-intrusive but still secure option as the default. Overall a very good way to change it.

My initial impressions are that it appears to take the good parts of Vista and improve them while fixing the bad parts. It feels a lot like what SP2 for XP did. It changes a lot of stuff but keeps the core intact. Maybe called it SP3 for Vista? 

Anyway, at this point it seems to be a very usable beta with no problems that I noticed. I’ll be very curious to see what they change in the release version.

If you haven’t heard, there is a potentially very awesome WW2 movie coming out this Friday called Defiance.  The movie is based on the true story of the Jewish Bielski brothers German resistance during WW2. As a big history fan of WW2 I’m definitely going to see this.  Anyways, the reason for this blog is that I was on the official site and I watched this interesting clip of an aged Jewish partisan sharing his thoughts about guns.  To view this clip click on the “acquiring firearms” tab and then click the “supplying weapons” video.

This is a great video.

Gun Control

I’m sure you’ve heard by now that the Packers have made some coaching changes.  And by some changes, I mean the Packers have pretty much fired all but one of their defensive coaches, including Defensive Coordinator Bob Sanders.  While I applaud the move, especially considering most of our losses came in the late 4th quarter because of piss-poor defensive stands, I don’t believe we’ve gone far enough.  13-3 down to 6-10 needs to result in some bold & ballsy moves.  Here are my suggestions for a successful 2009 season:

1. Already done – clean house in defense.  Time to hire a hard arsed Defensive Coordinator who has what it takes to put a stop to the opposing team run.  The saying defense wins games isn’t just a saying…
2. Now would be a great opportunity to beef up our linebackers.  Nick Barnett seems to be on the decline (yes I know he was injured), A J Hawk is good but needs to get way better, and Brady Poppinga is just an afterthought.  Thank goodness our corners had 22 interceptions this year.
3. We need to energize the fan base (and the team) though a big name acquisition in free agency.  Now, I’m sure I’ll get beat down on this one because it’s a coin flip if a free agent will provide a good ROI, but I think now, more than ever, is a good time to make this move.  Stay tuned for my suggestions in a future blog.
4. Re-sign Greg Jennings to a long term deal.  He’s coming up on a free agency year.  Enough said.
5. Lay it on the line with Mike McCarthy.  While I appreciate our 13-3 season last year, 6-10 just plain stinks.  We can’t afford another losing season, let alone one without a playoff appearance.
6. Crack down on penalties.  32nd in the NFL when it comes to team penalties.  It seems like every other play was a penalty.  Here’s a stat for you: 110 penalties for a total of 984 yards.  Time to tell the team “shape up or sit out.”
7. And last, but certainly not least, last chance Ted Thompson.  This man has done virtually nothing to improve this Packers team.  Last year we rode the wave of a phenomenal Brett Favre season and our defense was firing on all cylinders.  This year, well, you see what happens when your GM does nothing to improve the team.  Trading down in the draft to get little impact, no movement in the off season acquisition market, and an obvious lack of spark.

While this seems like a lot of work, it’s really not.  It comes down to two men making some significant decisions into whether or not they want to keep Green Bay as their home. To quote a line from “The Matrix”:

“This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.”

I hope for our sake they take the red pill.

Videogamer.com has compiled a very good list of last years 10 best games.  I’ve spent many an hour with quite a few of the excellent titles mentioned in the video and I’m tempted to run out and get the ones I haven’t…

FDR did it in the 30’s, Obama wants to do it in the 21st, sounds like a good idea right?  I’m not so sure, does building or repairing roads and bridges mean employing the same disenfranchised people it did 70 years ago?   I’ll be honest, I can’t divine the recipiants of these potential opportunities but I’m thinking a program featuring a big time influx of government cash to internal improvements such as roads, bridges, and potholes will just give more work to the same union guys who are already busy building roads, bridges, and filling potholes.   If this is the case, it might end up looking less FDRish than it does special interestish…

I read an interesting article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel detailing the basic plans of a group of Governors to request $1 trillion dollars in Federal bailout funds.  As if the federal bailouts of the financial and auto industry weren’t enough… A group of Democratic Governors have come out and called for the incoming administration to spend $1 trillion dollars to help “bolster” the economy.  Fixing our financial problems by creating more debt.  Seems like the perfect solution to me!