Official info about Windows XP Service Pack 2
This link to the first page of an eight-page Microsoft document for developers about Changes to Functionality in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 indicates:

"This document specifically focuses on the changes between earlier versions of Windows XP and Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) and reflects the current thinking of Microsoft about Service Pack 2 and its implications for developers. Examples and details are provided for several of the technologies that are experiencing the biggest changes: such as remote procedure calls (RPC), DCOM, Windows Firewall (previously called Internet Connection Firewall or ICF), and data execution prevention."

Though you may not be the type who likes to read documentation, and least of all documentation intended for developers of software programs, one of the things that commends this series of reports is that it follows the same format when discussing each of the changes that SP2 makes, and it does so in depth. Specifically, here are the questions it addresses about each change:

What does the thing being changed do?

Who does this feature apply to?

What existing functionality is changing in Windows XP Service Pack 2?

Why is this change important? What threats does it help mitigate?

What works differently or stops working? Are there any dependencies?

How do I resolve these issues?

Do I need to change my code to work with Windows XP Service Pack 2?

You'll note that one of these questions, What works differently or stops working?, is something that we end-users will be very interested in. So if your education taught you to scan documents selectively looking for specific material, you'll be able to scan this one to get an idea of what may be "broken" by this Service Pack. (I suppose that in the interest of not adding to the hysteria I should point out that "broken" in this sense only means that the operating system, Windows XP, will respond differently to the code in which affected programs are written -- not that your computer will be broken in any way.) Remember that this document is addressed to developers of software programs, so it is telling them "here's what going to change, what that change will affect, and how you can re-write your code so that your program will continue to work after the Service Pack 2 has been applied."

For end users like you and I, these explanations will help us be armed with a bit of information that can reduce the anxiety we feel about the "problems" that may be caused by the application of the Service Pack. Just like looking under the bed helped to prove to us there weren't monsters there when we were children, so knowing what is coming can help lessen our fears about applying the Service Pack.

I'm much relieved after having read these 8 pages this afternoon. I think references to "chaos" are exaggerations of the actual impact on those of us who are home users. If there is "chaos" it is more likely to occur within business networks that are running Windows XP as their primary operating system, and any chaos seems likely to be of the type that occurs when people panic so that their frightened actions cause more problems than the nature of the problem warrants. True, some home users who haven't bothered to learn about what is being changed by SP2 may face questions they don't know how to answer, but the choices they make in answering those questions aren't likely to be irreversible. They may mean you have to call a computer-savvy friend or a help desk to help you sort them out, but they can be fixed in my opinion.

Of course, "Time will tell. It is the true test of everything!"




- posted by Perry @ 6:51 AM 0 comments

 
Will XP's Service Pack 2 Cause Chaos?
This article in PC World says: "SP2 is due out in the third quarter, so it could be out as soon as next month. The service pack will be downloaded automatically into many PCs through Microsoft's Windows Update service and could create problems, including breaking current applications, disrupting networking set-ups, and prompting non-technical users to make PC configuration decisions that may be beyond their grasp."

Such dire warnings cause fear in the heart of most computer users, and many of them (us) are not looking forward to having to spend time adjusting settings or dealing with unanticipated hiccups in our online life. Frankly I'm among that group. However, I believe that it's important to make Windows more secure, so if I have to go through some pain in order to do that, then so be it. I suspect there'll be a lot of information floating around the online community about what to look for and how to deal with it before this new service pack hits the streets, so I plan to keep an eye out for articles about this upcoming transition, and I'll try to keep you informed here about what I've seen. I'd welcome any of you sharing your discoveries about this event with me too.

Maybe we'll be able to get through this if we all share what we've learned with each other.
- posted by Perry @ 7:34 AM 0 comments

 
A laptop is now a part of the mix
While I was visiting Phil during my recent visit to Georgia for Father's Day, he graciously offered me his old Toshiba laptop that he was not using. Some time ago he had replaced it with a newer HP laptop and so the Toshiba had fallen into disuse. I was delighted with the acquisition. A laptop is something I've always wanted but could never bring myself to opt for when I was purchasing a new computer because one can get so much more in a desktop for the same money. Receiving one as a hand-me-down is the perfect way to acquire one it seems to me.

Once I got it home, I discovered that it had about 150 pictures that Phil had stored on it from his digital camera. Since the laptop doesn't have a CD burner on it, I needed to get those pictures from it to my desktop so I could burn them to CD for him, but of course, they were too large to export one at a time on a floppy disk over to the desktop. Even though that would have been possible, doing so would have taken far too much time and work.

Since I have a Linksys router, all I needed was a NIC (network interface card) to connect the laptop to the router and hence to the desktop. My friend, Josh, had one that he wasn't using, so he loaned it to me with the possibility of my purchasing it if he doesn't need it to access his new PDA that he is getting soon.

Immediately upon plugging the NIC into the laptop, the system recognized and configured it, and I had access to the Internet from the laptop because of it. However, I couldn't figure out how to get the two systems to see each other on the LAN. I ran the Network Setup Wizard on my XP system which went as expected and set up a network on that machine, but I still couldn't see the laptop. Last night, however, I finally resolved the confusion and got the two systems to see each other.

The crucial step I had missed, and the one that to me seems woefully obscure in the instructions that Microsoft provides, is that you must run the Netsetup.exe program on BOTH computers before they can talk to each other. Since that program doesn't exist on the Windows 98SE operating system on the laptop, I had to copy it from the XP system to floppy and take it over to the laptop and run it on that system. After I ran it and the system rebooted, the two systems communicated with each other as expected. It seems so obvious, as is always the case, now that it is resolved, but before that crucial discovery, I couldn't figure out why one machine couldn't see the other.

Now everything is working together, and I'm quite pleased to have figured out the mystery.
- posted by Perry @ 8:23 AM 0 comments

 
Robert W. Bemer, 84, Pioneer in Computer Programming, Dies
In this obituary, The New York Times points out that Robert Bemer, who lived in Possum Kingdom Lake, Tex., (just west of Ft. Worth) at the time of his death "... played an important role in helping develop a standard system of translating letters and numbers into digital code that can be processed by a computer, known as the American Standard Code for Information Interchange, or Ascii (pronounced AS-kee). Before Ascii, computer manufacturers had their own systems for encoding letters and numbers, making it difficult or impossible to exchange data between machines from different computer makers.

In the late 1950's and early 1960's, Mr. Bemer was one of the foremost advocates who pushed for the standard, under the guidance of the American National Standards Institute (it was later adopted by the International Standards Organization). Ascii was put into effect in 1963, expanded and modified over the years, and it is an enduring standard in computing."
- posted by Perry @ 7:45 AM 0 comments

 
Four Large ISPs Almost United on Ways to Fight Spam
The New York Times reports: "Last month, Microsoft agreed to merge its proposal, called Caller ID, with another, called Sender Policy Framework, or S.P.F., backed by America Online and EarthLink. The new name of the combined standard is Sender ID.

Yahoo had continued to support a very different approach, called Domain Keys, that is more technically powerful but would take longer to carry out."

Everyone except the Spammers themselves I suppose is tired of the flood of spam that besieges us daily. With this near agreement between rivals we may as well get used to some new terms like Sender ID and Domain Keys because they are likely to be prominent in our future vocabulary.

And as welcomed as a decrease in the volume of Spam would be, I predict that many of us will experience the unintended consequences of this well-intentioned effort to resolve the problem. For instance, I suspect that some of us are going to find that our legitimate mail is blocked, filtered or otherwise disposed of by some of these schemes, just as current Spam blocking programs sometimes falsely classify legitimate mail as Spam.

Most users of Spam blockers seem to want to "set it and forget it" and when they fail to review the messages classified as Spam by their Spam blocking program, they place too much trust in automation. As good as those programs are, they sometimes fail to identify something as Spam or falsely identify legitimate mail as Spam and therefore they must be supervised closely.

It is simply a fact of life that if you are going to connect to the Internet you are going to have to take an active role in stopping the influx of unwanted and unsolicited commercial email and the intrusion and takeover of your system by viruses and trojans installed by the criminal element in the online world. Just as you must lock your car and your home each day when you leave them, so you must lock your connection to the world at large through the Internet. The "always on" connection is an "always vulnerable" open invitation to whomever would invade to try their hand. A valuable resource in first discovering your vulnerability and then learning how to address it is Steve Gibson's ShieldsUp! site. He provides this description of it: The Internet's quickest, most popular, reliable and trusted, free Internet security checkup and information service. And now in its Port Authority Edition, it's also the most powerful and complete. Check your system here, and begin learning about using the Internet safely.
- posted by Perry @ 6:24 AM 0 comments

 
Comments
To my chagrin, I've received feedback from a couple of you what when you've tried to use the comment facility here, you were prompted to log into to Blogger to be able to do so. Even before requesting feedback on the "new look," I had set my preferences so that anyone, even non-members of Blogger, could leave comments, just to avoid that requirement. I have dispatched a message to the support staff at Blogger, but I'm still awaiting a response from the telling me what else I can do to make the comments facility work as I want it to. I'll let you know when I hear from them. In the mean time, thanks for your patience.
- posted by Perry @ 7:06 AM 1 comments

 
A New Look
As is evident, I've taken advantage of some of Blogger's newest features and used a different template for my blog. I actually may be changing the look as I receive feedback on what you, my regular reader (notice the use of the singular noun), think of this one. There are a number of different templates I can choose from, and I'm not sure that the first one I have chosen is the one that I will stick with. You may be seeing several different looks in coming days and weeks until I can settle on a template I like best.

What I'm trying to achieve by making these changes is a freshness, of course, but also something that is more pleasing to the eye. Readability is a crucial goal, so feel free to comment on that and share your opinion about this change and whether or not you think it is an improvement.

I'm really quite impressed with all the new features that Blogger has made available with this service since Pyra (the parent company of Blogger) was bought out by Google. If you've ever thought you might want to get into the "blogging game," you will find that creating a blog with this service is easier than you think. The greatest problem in maintaining a blog is not how to use the tool but rather it is having something to say and saying it well.
- posted by Perry @ 6:55 AM 1 comments

 
Happy Birthday, Phil Petty
When you are young and just learning about annual occasions, like birthdays, the fact that people celebrate your birth is a big deal. Of course, the thing that endears birthdays to most children is the fact that people give them gifts, not so much that they remember them and their birthday.

As you reach old age and have become accustomed to the annual celebration, gifts become less important and remembrance takes on greater significance. Most of us appreciate the fact that our friends recall, amidst their busy schedules and preoccupations with their own lives, the fact that a particular day is our birthday. The greeting card becomes evidence that they took time out from their own self-absorbed lives to remember us and our birthday. Or at least that was the way it used to be.

Now in the age of the Internet we can wait until we are prompted by a personal information manager or some other calendar program that our friend's birthday has arrived and then at the last minute we can dash off an email to wish them well on their day. The computer's ability to recall things we humans have difficulty recalling is a great aid, but I'm afraid it leaves us less attentive to our friends than we might otherwise have to be.

Today, June 13th, is my friend, Phil Petty's, 74th birthday. So I thought I'd make this entry to celebrate our long friendship and to send my wishes his way.

Phil and I met back around 1973 because of our mutual love for singing Barbershop music. He was already a member of the Atlanta Peachtree Chapter of the S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A. when I joined. My first memory of him was his serving as the chairman of the committee to sell tickets for the Atlanta Peachtree Chapter's annual show. He made a really very thorough and impressive presentation to the group about how to identify potential sales by categorically going through your circle of acquaintances and contacts and just asking for the sale, even from strangers that you encountered. And that was both his profession and one of his greatest talents. He was and is a salesman from the depths of his being in the truest sense of that word.

But we became friends mostly because we both loved to laugh. Phil sang in a number of chapter quartets prior to our becoming close friends, and he had a rich, resonant bass voice that always contributed greatly to his quartets' success. About 1975, at a time when he was in between quartets, we decided to sing together, forming a quartet together with Forrest Umberger and Bob Wilson, two others with wonderful senses of humor, that we called The Fun Addicts. Now being in a quartet together, particularly one that does a lot of shows, means that you must spend a lot of time with each other practicing and traveling to performances. Those years of singing together were among the happiest of my life as we strove to improve our singing and to keep up with the active schedule that Phil's salesmanship arranged for us. Our group was remarkably compatible because we enjoyed having fun together, and we were able to take that sense of fun on stage with us. Our audiences got a chance to join in the fun with us while we performed. Hence the name we chose, and hence the basis for our popularity at the time.

Although our quartet stayed together for only about 3 years and was disbanded because of my move out of town, our friendship has remained through the years. When I moved to Knoxville in 1979, we lost contact with each other for 6 or 8 years, but we renewed our friendship when computers began to give us the ability to keep in touch electronically, and we've stayed in touch that way since that time. On rare occasions we have a reunion and our group gets together just to relive old times and enjoy each other's company once again.

I've spent many a night in Phil's home, thanks to his and his wife, Hazel's, generosity, and I've spent many hours on the phone with him, usually late at night because he is a night owl and tends to call me just as I am about to go to bed. I kid him about this practice but I tolerate it because I enjoy hearing from him, even if the next morning finds me dragging because of our late night conversations. Just as Seinfield was said to be a show "about nothing" so our conversations tend to be "about nothing." We talk at length just to share the time. The topics are usually of little importance, but the time shared is.

I consider myself fortunate to have a friend like Phil. He has a heart of gold and is always eager to laugh at even the most feeble of my attempts at humor. In many ways, that is one of the things that causes someone to become a friend, I think. They exhibit goodwill toward you and enjoy your company, and as someone once said, they are "someone who knows all about you and likes you in spite of it." Phil knows my flaws and seems to like me despite them.

I am pleased to honor him today with this entry and wish him the very best on his birthday.

Happy birthday, Phil, and thank you for your friendship through the years!
- posted by Perry @ 7:24 AM 0 comments

 
There is a future after all
A few postings back, I mentioned that our client, BellSouth, had decided to give their customer service business to our competitor, TAG, and that that meant there would be major upheaval at our company in the coming months. This morning one of my friends from work forwarded this message to me with wonderful news from the Site Director at our company:

Team, it is with much joy and excitement that I communicate to you that Daimler Chrysler has selected ClientLogic, Oak Ridge as their new partner. I received a call late last evening from our sales team with the news. This is a significant accomplishment in that this is the first time ClientLogic has ventured into the automotive industry. The fact that corporate had enough confidence to pitch this business from Oak Ridge Site is a big vote of confidence in the team here.

Many of you will have numerous questions such as when will it start, positions available, pay rates, etc., however at this time all we are sure of is that they are coming. I will provide you more information as it is made available.
- posted by Perry @ 10:47 AM 0 comments

 
Photographing a Wedding
On Friday, May 28th, I photographed Charlotte Doyle and Ronnie Ross' wedding for them. It was my first experience at being the primary photographer for a wedding and I approached it with some trepidation for fear that I'd somehow mess things up and thus miss a significant moment. All in all the pictures turned out reasonably well, I think. I haven't yet heard from the Bride and Groom and what they think of the pictures. I guess I'll have to wait until later to get their feedback.

With any of the pictures posted on this website, you can get an enlarged view of them if you just click on the image you'd like to see.


Mike, Cheryl, Jenny, Sandra, Eugene, Mam Maw 
- posted by Perry @ 8:04 AM 0 comments

 

The Bride and Groom, Sandra and Ronnie 
- posted by Perry @ 8:02 AM 0 comments