Microsoft cuts support for Windows 98 and Windows ME at the end of the month. Are we sorry to see it go?
Well, Windows ME I will happily say good bye and good riddance to. It was neither one thing nor the other, coming in between Windows 98 and before Windows 2000, and in my experience suffering the worst effects of both OS.
Windows 98, though, I have always liked when used in a standalone environment. As a stable, reliable, desktop operating system without network support, Windows 98 has always been stable for me. In fact, up until Windows XP, I used Windows 98 for the majority of my virtual machines as I could be sure of the stability.
Having worked on, and used, helpdesks I know that the checklist system many use needs to be developed properly. The idea is to have a good, strict, method both for reporting problems and for resolving them through the traditional ticket model.
A good overview of how to produce such a system through this piece. Getting the system right will make a big difference to the efficiency of your ticket system and you resolve the issues, and should make a difference to your staffing levels to, if he improvements make it easier to identify and resolve issues.
Having worked on, and used, helpdesks, I know that the checklist system many use needs to be developed properly. The idea is to have a good, strict method both for reporting problems and for resolving them through the traditional ticket model. A good overview of how to produce such a system through this piece.
Getting the system right will make a big difference to the efficiency of your ticket system and should make a difference to your staffing levels too if the improvements make it easier to identify and resolve issues.
I've commented before on my enthusiasm for Skype (there are certain aspects of my job where it would be difficult, if not simply very expensive to do what I do each day), and I've also talked about the Netgear Skype phone.
Now more dedicated hardware devices are being released that turn the Skype phone service - essentially a virtual phone system - into a physical service that could replace many elements of your phone calling requirements.
I've commented before on my enthusiasm for Skype (there are certain aspects of my job where it would be difficult, if not simply very expensive to do what I do each day), and I've also talked about the Netgear Skype phone.
Now more dedicated hardware devices are being released that turn the Skype phone service - essentially a virtual phone system - into a physical service that could replace many elements of your phone calling requirements.
Well my new laptop, a Mac Book Pro 17" has arrived.
It's disturbing to compare it to the Powerbook 17" that I've been using for the last three years or more - it feels lighter and somehow smaller, even though there are very few external physical differences.
It does, however, feel fast. Parallels on here is even snappier than on the iMac (which admittedly has a slower CPU, but faster disk). I also opted for a glossy screen to make images clearer and the descriptions I've seen bear it out - for video, photo and high-image web browsing it is amazing, and yet somehow not reflective enough to bug you during use.
Well my new laptop, a Mac Book Pro 17" has arrived.
It's disturbing to compare it to the Powerbook 17" that I've been using for the last three years or more - it feels lighter and somehow smaller, even though there are very few external physical differences.
It does, however, feel fast. Parallels on here is even snappier than on the iMac (which admittedly has a slower CPU, but faster disk). I also opted for a glossy screen to make images clearer and the descriptions I've seen bear it out - for video, photo and high-image web browsing it is amazing, and yet somehow not reflective enough to bug you during use.
My initial tests on the T1000 and X2100 continue. I've got some basic applications up and running on the two boxes, and I'll post some more detailed thoughts at some later stage, but for now I want to talk about one of the most arbitrary tests - running the distributed.net client.
The distributed.net client is part of a distributed computing project, with the intention of working out the necessary computer power required to achieve certain tasks. For my tests, I concentrated purely on the RC5-72 project, which is looking for the encrypted message through brute force - that is, trying every combination until the one that matches is found. The test is entirely CPU bound; there's hardly any disk activity and very little RAM requirement.
You know a company has had an influence on Apple when Apple start selling their product through the website. Parallels is one such product, and they announced yesterday that Parallels Desktop Hits Apple Store.
Parallels has been hitting Apple's Boot Camp on the nose as a solution for those people that need or want to run alternative OS on their Intel based Apple Macs. They both have benefits and opposing pitfalls; Boot Camp provides compatibility and performance but requires a reboot between switches. Parallels enables you to run both simultaneously, and the performance is great for everything but graphics-intensive environments.
You know a company has had an influence on Apple when Apple start selling their product through the website. Parallels is one such product, and they announced yesterday that Parallels Desktop Hits Apple Store.
Parallels has been hitting Apple's Boot Camp on the nose as a solution for those people who need or want to run an alternative OS on their Intel based Apple Macs. They both have benefits and opposing pitfalls. Boot Camp provides compatibility and performance but requires a reboot between switches. Parallels enables you to run both simultaneously, and the performance is great for everything but graphics-intensive environments.