A couple of sensible alternatives

One common complaint I hear about computer is how bulk some common software is. Back in the day, these programs were small enough, but it seems that as new updates were released, developers added more and more features that many people did not really use but had to keep as part of the install. These programs took longer to start and began taking up more drive space and system resources, slowing especially older computers down considerably.

The two I am going to Focus on today are Microsoft's Windows Media Player, and Adobe's Reader.

Before I continue on what seems to be a rant (OK, maybe it is a bit of a rant) I want to emphasize that there are some times when some people may want or even need some extra features built into these programs, but most often I would suggest they are more "bulk" than they are worth.

Today, I am going to recommend two free, much smaller, yet surprisingly powerful alternatives to the two programs mentioned above. I use both programs on all my computers and am very happy with them both.

The first is called Media Player Classic. MPC looks like an older version of Windows Media Player, but that is where the similarity ends. MPC is not only lighter (by far) than Windows Media Player, but it seems to run more kinds of files. For example, if you perform a fresh install of Windows XP, then try to run a DVD in the included Windows Media Player, it wont' run. It is missing a needed "codec" (don't ask, just take my word for it that you will need it) in order to actually play the DVD. MPC, on the other hand, seems to have built in the needed codec, not only for DVDs, but a huge variety of file types. As a final kicker, because of its lightness, it generally starts up more quickly and is less of a resouce hog,a dn is hence less prone to pauses and hiccups. How they developers packed all this in to 1.9 MB beats the heck out of me.

You can get it here:

http://download.cnet.com/Media-Player-Classic/3000-2139_4-10518778.html?tag=mncol

You will need to manually associate the files (under edit - options) to make sure that MPC is your default player.

The second item I am recommending is called Foxit PDF reader. Nothing complicated about this one, either. It opens PDFs perfectly but much more quickly than Adobe's reader. In over 3 years of using it, I have yet to run across a situation where a PDF file did not render correctly with this product. And at a svelte 3.57MB, it is much lighter than Adobe's product and loads up way more quickly! Note that you may lose some functions like filling out forms, but I keep a (dormant) copy of Adobe on one of computers should the occasion come up for me to have such a need.

You can that one here:

http://download.cnet.com/Foxit-Reader/3000-10743_4-10313206.html?tag=mncol

There are many other good light alternatives to bloated software, but I will leave it at that for today. If you know of any good free and lighter alternatives out there, feel free to post them in the comments.

Enjoy!

Yes, AVG is still free

Just hard to find the new free version 8.5. So here is the link:

http://download.cnet.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition/3000-2239_4-10320142.html?tag=mncol

HDTV for free

My wife and I just picked up a 40' Samsung TV about a month ago. We subscribe to Telus TV which does not have HD available in our area yet, but they tell me its coming.

Until then, given that the NHL playoffs are here and all, I decided to give one of these homemade antennas a try (such as this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWQhlmJTMzw). The area I live in is up a hill but is fairly "treed" so I was not sure what to expect.

Our TV is in the south west corner of the house and I am not taking this hobby seriously enough to drill holes in my walls, so I just ran some coax across my floor to the sliding door leading to my deck on the north side of my house. I propped it upright on a plastic lawn chair with a weight to keep it stable. Very "make shift", I know. :)

I used http://www.satsig.net/maps/lat-long-finder.htm to get my precise latitude and longitude coordinates and plugged them into http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=90 to find my house. I clicked the check box below the map to determine the direction the various signals were originating.

Since I was mostly interested in just getting the NHL playoffs at this point, I faced my antenna towards Mount Seymour (many Vancouver stations including CBC broadcast from up there). Just a bit of repositioning to find the "sweet spot" on my deck and I was done. Here is what I am picking up at this point:

2
2-1
8
12-1
17
22-1
24-1
26
32
32-1
42
66

I was pretty impressed that I was able to get this much with such a simple cheap home made antenna. I may make a better one in the future, but this will suffice for now. The digital channels all come in great and the Canucks look great in HD! :)

Preparing for Conficker - read this before April 1st

As you may have seen in the news, there is a threat due to hit on April 1st (no, really).

I personally thik the threat is overhyped, but one should always be prudent when it comes to personal PC security. As long as you take decent basic care of your computer's security, you should be in good stead. To ensure you are protected here is an excellent self-help link:

http://windowssecrets.com/2009/03/30/01-Run-a-Conficker-removal-tool-before-April-1

Spiceworks now at version 3.6

I have been using Spiceworks for almost a year now, and love it. Inventory of my network and tracking of helpdesk calls is dead simple for techies. And it is free to boot if you don't mind the (unobtrusive) ads on the right. If you wish, you can pay a monhly fee to have those ads removed.

Here is a 60 minute video about using the inventory feature to troubleshoot your network.


Inventory & Troubleshoot Your Network With Spiceworks from Spiceworks on Vimeo.

Get Spiceworks here.

Defrag and optimize your PC - freeware

One area of a PC's needs that has historical been under-served by Microsoft is the DEFRAG function.  Although each release of windows makes improvements, this area still is best served by third party utilities.  My defrag program of choice is called SmartDefrag, by the good folks at IOBit.  

SmartDefrag is aptly named, and has a number of neat features.  It performs the traditional analyze and "on demand" defrag, but then it has so much more that it can do.  Here is a list of some of its features:

1. You can, not only defrag, but also optimize your drive.  Optimizing is a process of moving the files around such that the most often accessed files are placed near the beginning of the drive where the computer looks first.  This improves your computer's response time.
   
2. You can set automatic constant defragging so you never have to manually perform a defrag again - a true "set it and forget it" solution.
   
3. You can set the constant defrag to run only when you are not using your computer so it does not use any system resources while you are using your computer for other purposes.  Defrag resumes after a period of inactivity.
   
4. Finally, you can adjust those last two settings.  For example, you can set the "resume" function to kick in after 2 minutes or two hours.  You can similarly adjust the amount of free system resources before the defrag is suspended.  In each case, the settings that are in place by default should work fine.
   

This is a fairly simple program to install and use, but packs a lot of feature into its modest 2.5 MB size.  Best of all, it is certified to be without malware and is completely free.  But then, when have I ever promoted something you have to pay for?

You can get your copy here.

Enjoy!

Augmented Reality - a totally fun waste of time

My co-worker, Jason, introduced me to this site. You need a webcam and microphone and speakers for this to work. Basically, you print a simple graphic image from the web site, run a little flash app on the web site, let your image be visible in the web cam and watch what happens! I could try to describe it, but words do not do it justice so try it yourself.

Once you see the digital hologram, blow on your microphone and see how that effects the image. If you are wondering what computer techies do when they are supposed to be responding to calls, look no further than sites like this.

Really cool!