Windows XP - Troubleshoot/fix shutdown, restart and startup problems

Being just a little bit of a computer geek, I am sometimes called upon to help diagnose (and fix) some pc problems. While surfing around for some answers I found the following site that looks promising to give some quick and concise description on how to correct certain items.

Windows XP - Troubleshoot/fix shutdown, restart and startup problems: "Windows XP : How to Troubleshoot and Fix Shutdown, Restart (Reboot), and Startup Problems"

ZeroLogik: Debunking the Debunking of Mac's Self-Created Hype

So, I was just chatting/ emailing Joan about her new MacBook and happened across the following discussion about the PC vs. Mac commercials. (OK, the closest thing I've ever owned even remotely related to a Mac was my first pc Apple IIc, and aside from some very occasional testing for work, I haven't used a Mac since the square boxes I had back in college....long ago when they were still only called Macintosh).

I am by far no expert to lend an opinion on the hardware, but I do like the style of the commercials, which makes this article linked below interesting to read.

ZeroLogik: Debunking the Debunking of Mac's Self-Created Hype

Why I like Firefox...

I was having a conversation last week about several websites and the topic came up about browsers. I started to explain why I enjoyed Firefox and listed off a few add-ons I liked and then came to realize that there were many I missed. So I thought I'd write a post to list out those add-ons I use regularly and some that I thought would be cool to use if I ever got more into it. But that is part of the Firefox experience there are those add-ons that are so natural that they are just there.

So here's list of add-ons in no particular order (whatever I happen to notice or recall first):
(update 04/06/07 adding links...)

• Forecast Fox - turn on the looping radar , large size very cool (by default its static and small)
• Adblock (Plus) - turn off all those annoying banners
  
• Fasterfox - to me its just just a cool icon in the tray, I haven't really noticed much with the broadband hook up, but still would recommend trying it
• Session Manager - the native version of Firefox has supposedly its gotten better in the recently release, but I still use the add on - I like the restore an accidentally closed tab.
  
• Unplug - get the attachment, embedded object, picture, PDF, ...off the page
• All in One Sidebar - with all those add-ons it helps to keep them organized
• Cool-Iris - preview a page in hover call out...latest update to use graphic to hover over very helpful
  
• Smiley Xtra ( ok I like adding smiley every now and then...there are some really fun ones out there )
• Mapthis - highlight any text address ( haven't tried places like albany airport, disney world, eiffle tower, grand canyon, but think that they might...on any website, right click and chose map this and in another window appears a google map of the area
• Dictionary Tool tip - double click word for meaning
• Temporary Inbox - get rid of spam by using temporary addresses
  

For a few that I tried but don't use that often here are my honorable mentions:

• Speak it - read any text in the browser
• View Source Chart - tech gadget for developers
• Measure it - another developer tool to get the pixel size
  
• Tab Mix plus
• Image Zoom & Mouse Zoom - one of these worked well on desktop but not with touch pad of laptop so I don't use it as often

Things that I think are Firefox alone that are nice:

• Tabbed browsing (Yes, IE7 has it now, but it was in Lotus first then Firefox...Opera somewhere in there...and then IE). I like the way you add new tabs by clicking around (almost anywhere depending on how you set it up in your preferences...this does not appear to have same flexibility in IE)
• the search bar add ons to use different sites: google, wikipedia, webster, even shopping, many others to add in
  
• skins, skins, skins....fusion alternative is my current favorite
  

Good Tips & Advice from the Sys Admin Newsletter February 2007 - LotusUserGroup.org

From the SYS ADMIN TIPS NEWSLETTER PRESENTED BY LOTUSUSERGROUP.ORG...

Podcast about the problems with DST:
http://www.idonotes.com/IdoNotes/IdoNotes.nsf/dx/02122007124126PMCMIPTG.htm
(I need to listen to this one yet...) While I don't expect to have to directly handle any issues from it, I'll need to be informed as to how other's are dealing with it.

Past Articles here.

CANDID TALK ABOUT LOTUS CONNECTIONS

As IBM has been running this software internally for some time, IBM
has brought all the hype about Web 2.0 capabilities and the future of
combining enterprise employee information, together in this new
software release. Lotus Connections, according to marketing
statements, is social software that creates a dynamic network of
employees, partners and customers to help execute decisions quicker.
Not to be confused with Lotus Quickr, of course.

Here is what I take away from my podcast with Alan Lepofsky while at
Lotusphere 2007
() and all the information I have read. The idea is not
revolutionary for the consumer market space, but hard to implement for
the enterprise space. Forgetting hardware or installation needs, read
as I type about the implementation and acceptance of each of the
areas.

Profiles: A keen area where people can actually enter information, not
only professionally, but personally. It becomes an online living
resume of sorts, allowing people to reach the right person that has
skills in certain areas. While some of this can be drawn from HR
systems, most of the information will be missing or in paper form,
like certifications. It will be up to the individual, unmonitored, to
enter information about themselves into the profiles. Getting the
people to fill it out correctly will be the effort. While people
spill life stories onto MySpace and other personal networking sites,
work smarts seem to fall under Knowledge Capital.

Communities: Now this caught my eye. Bringing together people based
on area of interest from within the enterprise. Interaction is based
on email, Sametime, Dogears and even Activities. This is the move
that companies have been trying to make for years with such things as
Portal and discussion databases. Implement awareness with Activities
and the social bookmarking (that I talk about in a moment) and you
have an amazing opportunity. Having said some glowing comment, I
found only one negative at this point. I know people are overwhelmed
with information at this time and are over subscribed with RSS feeds
and websites to visit. The tendency here is to join every community
that you have interest in. Information overload in the extreme.

Blogs: There is not much here to say. Blogs are everywhere and it
pushed those that don't blog yet to start. I think that getting good
information and a schedule for posting is just as important as saying
you have a blog. A good side is that this can be an internal only
blog that is not publicly visible, a huge selling point for
executives.

Dogear: Ever wanted others to see your links and have to mail them?
This lets you start sharing important links with others that can then
learn from the items you read. Dogears are folded into Communities to
have sharing based strictly on a defined topic. This also allows you
to share only what you think others will wish to see and not every
bookmark you may have. I would like to see this as a Google Marker
type popup for ease of entering.

Activities: A dashboard to track a project or task that needs to be
completed. Wrapped inside are chats, emails, webpage links and loose
documents. Templates can be made for specific types of activity
areas. I haven't played with this as much as I would like so I am
hesitant to make any overall comments. Outside of the tests I did, it
shows great promise for collaboration.

So, there is the small overview. Look for expanded coverage of my
thoughts in my blog at http://www.IdoNotes.com.


VIRTUAL USER GROUP MEETING PRESENTATION AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD

If you missed our Virtual User Group Meeting on January 10th, don't
fret. You can still download Rob Wunderlich's presentation on
mobilizing your Notes. The download is free for members

Here's the outline of the presentation. You can download it here.


Introduction
* Demo: Get your Notes mail to your handheld
* How do you enable the mobile workforce?
Mail / calendar / contacts
Browser access from mobile devices for key applications, not
as easy as it sounds
Syncing 'custom' applications
* The Market
* Demos
* Keeping the CIO happy
* Rolling out the project
* How do you 'future-proof' your organization's mobile initiatives
* Where to go from here
* Resources for you check out
* LUG moderated topic forum

Domino Interface: Launching a Window from a View

Here's a link to an interesting technique on avoiding too many tabs in the Notes Client. A very good description on how to implement it..,great post Richard!!

Domino Interface: Launching a Window from a View

famfamfam.com: Silk Icons

This site was recommended by Nathan T. Freeman in his session presentation at Lotusphere 2007. There are some great icons to download for applications here...famfamfam.com: Silk Icons

LotusUserGroup.org -- User Group Forum

From the LotusUserGroup.org site a very good article regarding sites for reference to UI: LotusUserGroup.org -- User Group Forum.

Here it site descriptions:

If you are interested in the subject of user interface design and usability, there are many great resources available to you. I´ve created a list of some of my favorites below. One of the great things about UI design is that it is really technology agnostic. The same rules apply (mostly) whether you are building a Notes application, a VB app, a website with Ruby on Rails, etc. Of course, these ideas and techniques can often be modified or enhanced for a particular platform, which is why I started writing about this subject on my blog, Interface | Matters (http://interfacematters.com).

Remember that interface design is as much art as it is science. In my opinion, there are really no hard and fast rules...you just have to use what is right for the particular job at hand. As Steve Krug says, this is all really just "advanced common sense"! With that in mind, here we go...in no particular order of importance:

Websites

useit.com - Jakob Nielsen´s website (http://www.useit.com): Love him or hate him, Jakob Nielsen is one of the leading UI guys...really considered the grandfather of "discount usability engineering". His website has a lot of great information for free, but full-blown technical reports from his company will cost you. And yes, his site is pretty ugly, but he says it´s on purpose! happy

OK/Cancel (http://www.ok-cancel.com/): A more humorous and sometimes tongue-in-cheek look into usability design can be found on OK/Cancel. This site is a collaboration between Kevin Cheng and Tom Chi. They often use a comic strip to get their ideas across and write some interesting (although often opinionated) pieces on usability, user interfaces and the computer industry.

Advanced Common Sense (http://www.sensible.com/): The website for usability consultant Steve Krug (author of "Don´t Make Me Think"): Although there is not a lot of original new content on his site, it serves as a good supplement to his book. You can also find links to interviews Steve has done and updates on what he is currently working on, workshop information, etc.

Usability Professional´s Association (http://www.upassoc.org/): From their website: "The Usability Professionals’ Association supports usability specialists, people from all aspects of human-centered design, and the broad family of disciplines that create the user experience in promoting the design and development of usable products." Here you will find resources such as articles, case studies, guidelines and methods and all kind of goodies related to usability.

Bad Designs (http://www.baddesigns.com/): A website with examples of many designs of everyday things that have poor usability. Sometimes it is just as important to learn what NOT to do as it is to learn what to do. happy

Interface Hall of Shame (http://homepage.mac.com/bradster/iarchitect/shame.htm): Another collection of poor UI design in action. Lots of great examples to learn from.

and finally, how could I leave out

Lotus Notes Sucks (http://lotusnotessucks.4t.com/index.html): While I certainly don´t agree with the title and although much of this site refers to old versions of Notes, there is still material of value here. Much of it comes from the user not understanding how to use Notes, but that´s exactly one of the problems isn´t it? Some of the content here may give you ideas on how to improve your application interfaces to work around some of Notes´ shortcomings.

IBM ShortCuts Podcast � Blog Archive � Cut #22: How to get your blog noticed

OK so this blog won't be a great hit...I only got about 1 out of 6. Once I get a bit more experience with this I may try for some of the others.

IBM ShortCuts Podcast � Blog Archive � Cut #22: How to get your blog noticed: "This week, ShortCuts blogging expert Todd 'Turbo' Watson gives his tips on how to get noticed in the blogosphere. Todd's six rules of successful blogging:

1. Be controversial

2. Get a scoop

3. Write about topical issues, and tag your posts intelligently

4. Ping Technorati and other popular blog search engines when you have fresh content

5. Become an expert, and outreach to fellow bloggers in your chosen expertise

6. Blog and link to other bloggers often"

IBM ShortCuts Podcast

Here's some good rule of thumb for Wiki's. See the link for more interesting topics...(I'll probably find more to include here...
IBM ShortCuts Podcast: "How much structure should you build into your wiki? Is there an optimal level of structure that encourages the most collaboration from your team? ShortCuts knowledge management expert Luis Suarez offers five tips on how best to structure wikis.

Here they are:
1. Have a welcome page
2. Make a shared calendar
3. Put together a who's who page of team members
4. Choose three topics for discussion/collaboration
5. Don't forget to add a section for resources and helpful links
Run time: 4:51, file size: 4.56 MB."

Beta Blogger Label Cloud

This is one of the easiest tutorials on how to modify the TagCloud in Blogger. (I've used it my misc blog and will be updating this one shortly...Then I need to figure out how to implement it on the NSF version, shouldn't be to hard)


Beta Blogger Label Cloud

Technorati Help: Blogging 101

Having been asked to describe a blog recently, I happened across this excellent description at Technorati...I've had limited exposure to Technorati, but may need to investigate it more....
Technorati Help: Blogging 101

Geek Humor - Funny Vista Acronyms

Originally from the site: Geek Humor - Funny Vista Acronyms

Very Inconsistent Software - Try Again
Virus Instability Spyware Trojans Adware (or Viruses Intrusions Spyware Trojans Adware)
Very Irritating System Try Another
Vista Is Stupid To Attempt
Volatility Isn't Something To Admire
Virtually Impossible Source To Avoid
Vastly Inferior Software To Apple's
Vaguely Innovative - Sucks The Ass
Venereal Infectious Sexually Transmitted Ailment
Vista Is Shittier Than Anything
Vastly Improved Solitaire Tiling Algorithms

IBM team collaboration software - Lotus Quickr

One of big hits from Lotusphere2007 was Quickr. I just wanted to throw a quick link here as a reminder as we will be looking at using this in the near future.


IBM team collaboration software - Lotus Quickr

BBspot - How White and Nerdy Are You?

Just another online personality test.




How White and Nerdy Are You?



BBspot - How White and Nerdy Are You?

I, Cringely . The Pulpit . Oh Brother Where Art Thou? | PBS

I, Cringely is one of my favorite tech news columns that isn't specifically Lotus Notes related. The articles are very intelligent and thorough. Gotta find that link to the airplane wifi...

I, Cringely . The Pulpit . Oh Brother Where Art Thou? | PBS

ESCAPE VELOCITY :: Save the client...

I missed getting one of these T-Shirts at Lotusphere this year. Being a fan of Heroes wish I could've gotten one...Gotta remember to read some of Blogosphere's posts a little ahead of time for next year's Lotusphere.

ESCAPE VELOCITY :: Save the client...

How to Kill Your Blogroll with Google Reader’s Clips - from The Zero Boss by Jay Andrew Allen

Ok I don't quite have a blog roll yet, but I do have a series of blogs that I have followed in the past that I am hoping to eventually create links to, but the suggestion below seems to be a bit more up to date...

How to Kill Your Blogroll with Google Reader’s Clips - from The Zero Boss by Jay Andrew Allen

Lotus Geek | Lotusphere 2007: SpeedGeek Info

All the links to the cool stuff from SpeedGeeking.
Thanks Rocky!!
Lotus Geek | Lotusphere 2007: SpeedGeek Info

How to Add a Pollhost Poll to a Blogger Blog - eHow.com

Some interesting notes on how to set up a poll....

Follow this link to see the original post copied below.

How to Add a Pollhost Poll to a Blogger Blog - eHow.com:

Instructions

* STEP 1: Sign up for a free Pollhost account and log in––if you already have an account, log in to create your poll. Enter your question and possible answers.
* STEP 2: Choose the style of the voting box, then customize colors and fonts to match your blog settings. Once your poll is set, click Generate HTML code. Copy the code.
* STEP 3: Log into Blogger; go to your dashboard.
* STEP 4: Click Write Post to create a new post. Add any text that you want, then click “Edit HTML.” Paste in the Pollhost code.
* STEP 5: Click publish to save and publish your post.

Overall Tips & Warnings

* Pollhost allows you to have 15 polls active at a time.
* Each question you have can have up to 20 answers."

Julian Robichaux excellent code tip for Keystrokes in Client

I was reviewing Julian's blog @ nsftools.com and found one of recent posts that I found pretty cool to address the issue of not having a keypress event available in the Notes Client. Check it out at:


SnTT: Keystroke Counting in the Notes Client (Thursday, Dec 28)

IBM developerWorks website links to Lotusphere

As much as I love the content and the value of resources provided, I find navigating the IBM developerWorks website a bit confusing at times. (I briefly mentioned this to the booth attendee for developerWorks in the Product Showcase while at Lotusphere). The searching is only marginally better if you happen to be in the right ballpark because there is so much information there you often hit too many links to information that is only partially relevant. Now granted I have only looked at attending Lotusphere possible 4 or 5 times in the past and now have only attended 2. It seems each year that as Lotusphere gets closer to registration time it becomes difficult to find the appropriate links beforehand. The following page : Lotusphere 2007 on developerWorks had just about everything I wanted to know, but by the time I found it I was already at Lotusphere and did not have the necessary time to read through the relevant information. Here's hoping that the navigation, at least to the Lotusphere info, is more readily available next year.

Domino Power's Recap of Lotusphere 2007

In my efforts to recap my great experiences with Lotusphere 2007, I have come across other blogger's notes and impressions from the sessions. While there is a lot of the blogs that can be found via the social bookmarking such as technorati at:

http://technorati.com/tag/lotusphere2007


Update: Here is my opening session review.
Here is closing session review.
Below I have included a link (more to add later...) to an interesting article.

To start off there is one of many great recaps of Lotusphere from Domino Power. Thanks go out to Charlie, who forwarded the following link:

Domino Power Magazine Recap of Lotusphere 2007

LotusUserGroup.org Booth @ Lotusphere

Location: Rensselaer

One of the many booths that I stopped at in Lotusphere was the LotusUserGroup.org booth. They had a brief demonstration of the site that they host that provides free membership to view webcast sessions on various Lotus products. While visiting there booth, they gave away pedometers (shown below). On their website they have a contest running where participants can enterr the amount that they walked while at Lotusphere. You can see my results(only the 3 highest out of 4 entered inthe miles section) at: LotusUserGroup Step Contest Visit their site for free membership and to view all of their past webcasts at :LotusUserGroup.org.

GMail Pop service hook into Notes

This was some good info on how to have the Notes Client setup to work GMail pop service. It describes the appropriate settings to use GMail in Lotus.

http://www.rhs.com/web/blog/poweroftheschwartz.nsf/d6plinks/RSCZ-683MXN

Test email to blog

Ok, so I had to test the ability to create an email and send it to the Blog. It worked and was really easy (except for typing in the long email address). This will be a great way to get posts into the blog.

In the blogger settings area you can set the blog up to receive emails (and if you have multiple blogs you are able to define separate addresses for each). That is so cool.

This is my tech posts

On this blog I will be capturing any technical notes of interest that I want to follow up on. I will mainly be following the areas of Lotus Notes & Domino development as well as interests in web development techniques.