I’ve installed Vista with the “new” ATI drivers that support OpenGL. The process has been less “fun” than I’d like thus far, and I don’t yet have my favorite games working. Here are a few of the little problems I’ve encountered
Continue reading Vista revisited…
ATI released their “production” Vista driver on January 29th. And it apparently has native OpenGL support, at least according to this extract from the release notes:
Continue reading Vista released…and ATI release driver with OpenGL support
I run my main computer slightly on the edge. I don’t overclock it, but I do have some of the latest hardware inside, and the latest drivers. I build (assemble the bits, install and configure the OS) it myself not because I consider myself particularly brilliant, but because it sort of makes me feel good.
I am pretty technically proficient. However, I build one (1) completely unique computer per year more or less: you don’t learn all the ins and outs of a build when you only create one of them. And as a result of the “one of a kind” nature of my configuration, I am periodically caught by a problem. That’s what this post is about.
I’m not exactly known for my patience. You could probably find my picture next to the Wikipedia entry for “instant gratification”. If I decide I want a gadget, I’ll usually mull it over for some months, but when I make the final decision…there is no hesitation. Don’t stand in my way in Best Buy…several Sales Associates have tried that, and they are still recovering.
As mentioned in my previous post, I’ve built a new machine. And I’ve completed my first performance test on it, before any optimizations and with an out of date video driver. Here is what I got running 3D Mark 2006: Continue reading Performance of my new computer…
I built my “new” computer over the weekend. This is sort of a tradition- every two years or so, I feel the need to refresh my technology from the ground up. Every other year I perform an “intermediate” upgrade- RAM, video, disk. The distinction between these two types of upgrade is somewhat vague, but I pretend they are different.
The last “full system” upgrade was back in 2004. I moved from Intel to AMD, NVidia to ATI, IDE to SATA, and life was good. This time around the changes are a bit more subtle…basically, sticking with AMD, ATI, and SATA, but bigger, faster, and better. Since I like living on the bleeding edge, I also decided to try Vista RC2…that turned out to be unworkable, but then it *is* a beta release.
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I enjoy…perhaps that’s the wrong word, but I’ll use it for now…catching vendors in obvious disconnects between words and action. Here is one I just found:
Continue reading Microsoft Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor not compatible with Windows XP X64
Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal penned an article the other day about how the Personal Computer era may be ending, to be replaced by … I’m not really sure, I guess he’s saying purpose built devices for particular purposes. Actually, the way I read his article, I think he’s saying that the “component build” model appears to be a poor one to use for things like iPods, but the technology media seems to have picked up on this being someone yet again predicting the end of the personal computer.
I’m pretty sure that Mr. Mossberg didn’t actually intend to predict the end of the personal computer. That’s been done so many times before its almost laughable. Network Computers were hyped and died in the mid ’90s. We’ve had several generations of game consoles that were supposed to kill the personal computer. And now ubiquitous devices like iPods and web browser/camera/music player/pda/cell phones are going will be the death nell that removes that machine from under your desk.
Bill Gates has responded to this kind of thing before, and apparently he’s written a letter to the WSJ for this one (although I’m not a WSJ subscriber, so I can’t read it). To be honest, Bill, you are wasting your time.
Continue reading Replace my computer with an iPod? I don’t think so…
If you buy an upscale new car today or in the near future, say a BMW, Mercedes, or Cadillac, there’s a good chance that you won’t have a key. Instead, you’ll have a little fob- sort of like the keyless entry control you are likely used to. To start the car, you’ll just push a button- the car will have confirmed that you have the right fob and will allow you to start the engine (or not). No key to pull out of your pocket or fuss with. This all sounds very high-tech and convenient. Unfortunately, the
methods used by the car and the keyfob to validate each other are pretty porous….easily crackable. Even easier than the keyless entry system. And unlike the keyless entry system, they let you start the car and drive away as if you own it. The article I link to above lays things out pretty clearly, but here’s the gist of it. Remote keyless entry fobs are “active”: they have have a battery and broadcast a signal only when you press the button on the fob. The new keyless ignition systems work the opposite way: the fobs are passive, and the car continously sends out a signal looking for the authorization response. Someone with some basic computer equipment can pick up that signal, identify its nature, and try a simple brute force attack until the car responds. The encryption code (key) used by the cars is a relatively weak 40 bit cryptographic length- for comparison, your web browser supports a 128 bit key. A 40 bit key can be broken by a laptop in a matter of hours: possibly much faster if the thief has some clues such as those given by the car sending out its query signal. Since getting a response means the thief can actually start and drive away in the car without a hitch, and since most cars with this system today are in the $60,000 + range, hacking the code is worth the effort. David Beckham of soccer fame has had his BMW sport utility vehicle stolen this way not once, but twice. Apparently, the manufacturers of the cars using these systems don’t think their vulnerability to hacking is worth worrying about. For myself, I’ll probably think twice if I happen to one day be looking at cars with this keyless ignition feature…
Apparently Google is taking Microsoft to task over the new search bar built in to Internet Explorer 7. The Googleheads are upset over the fact that this search bar defaults to using Microsoft’s own MSN search.
First let’s set aside the obvious fact that Firefox “defaults” to using Google, and no one complains about that. And then we can ignore the fact that Microsoft is the manufacturer of IE 7 and therefore somewhat entitled to give precedence to their own products. That leaves us with one slim thread holding up any credibility to Google’s concerns: that somehow, Microsoft is taking away a user’s “freedom of choice”.
Continue reading Google upset about IE7 search default…are they blind?