Windows XP Service Pack 2 Released for Home, Delayed for Pro

Filed under “Software
by Adam at 7:04 PM

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Microsoft has finally released the Service Pack 2 for Windows XP Home users, but users of the Professional version will have to wait a little while longer. The Redmond behemoth is giving companies that use the corporate-targeted pro version a chance to do further testing before rolling out the update enterprise-wide. A wise choice, since XPSP2 represents a substantial operating system upgrade.

In other news, the much-ballyhooed upgrade to Windows’ built-in firewall included in SP2 turns out to be something of a half-measure. It successfully blocks unauthorized incoming data, but fails to require permission for programs to send data to the internet. The distinction between these two types of protection and the serious security consequences of Microsoft’s failure to provide both are detailed in the above-linked article.

(citations: Watching Microsoft Like a Hawk, via Photo Matt)

Paint Shop Pro 9, PSP Studio Available in Beta

Filed under “Photography,” “Software,” “Web Design & Development,” and “Graphic Design
by Adam at 12:43 PM

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The next version of my image editor of choice, Jasc Software’s Paint Shop Pro 9, is now available in a public beta version. It looks like Jasc is really upping the ante with this release, competing with Photoshop on features such as RAW image import and advanced filters specifically for digital camera users. (more…)

Beware Comair

Filed under “Travel
by Adam at 5:14 PM

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I’m back home from Toronto, having arrived early this morning after my flight from Cincinnati was delayed. I’ve been puttering around since I woke up at 2pm — playing with my cat, nursing a couple of cups of coffee. Later today — as I unpack and start doing my laundry from the trip — I’ll be posting a few more entries from the conference, backdated to the date and time that I scrawled them on hotel stationary.

First, though, I wanted to post a warning to anyone considering flying Delta Air Lines in the near future. Unless you live in or near a city with a major hub airport, chances are good that you’ll have to take a connecting flight to a hub on a partner or subsidiary airline. Delta uses Comair, a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, for this purpose. (more…)

Friday Night Observations

Filed under “Work,” “Culture,” and “Travel
by Adam at 1:44 AM

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Torontoans drive crazy, but I walk crazy so it sort of evens out.

All of the female mannequins down Queen St West seem to have nipples, which is rare in small-town Kansas. Very few mannequins of either gender have heads, which is slightly disturbing. I took a picture of a window display to demonstrate this on my photoblog when I get back, and some drunk taxi passenger shouted “Hey perv, stop takin’ pictures!”

I was marked by a guy in a convenience store who was stupid enough to let me know he was doing it. I lost him in foot traffic pronto.

Torontoans, for the most part, are very friendly. I’ve started pleasant conversations with total strangers on the street without being looked at like I was crazy.

There’s an Indian restaurant on Queen West called “Gandhi Indian Cuisine,” which is kind of ironic when you think about it.

The people in the room next door to mine are having sex right now (not the Urinator, but the ones on the other side). This is nice for them, but I’m a bit envious.

I may not be able to post any more until I get home, since the battery is running out on my borrowed laptop and Colleen forgot to pack her power cord. If the Resource Center is still open tomorrow, I may try to squeeze a description of day three into the allotted 10 minutes of computer time I can get there.

‘Night.

Blogging the APRA Conference: Day Two

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by Adam at 5:16 PM

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Yesterday was the second day of the APRA conference. I attended a good session in the late morning about database conversions, which gave me some info that I hope will be helpful in my own institution’s pending conversion to SCT PowerCampus. In the afternoon there was a session about “next generation” data mining, in which I discovered that the presenter was advocating something that I was pretty much already doing anyway.

Early in the evening Colleen “Official Conference Buddy” Marlow and I hit the hotel pool and jacuzzi, alternately freezing and roasting and generally having a good time. Colleen [deleted at Ms. Marlow’s request] during an attempted demonstration of solo synchronized swimming, and kicked my ass in our weird little improvised sport of foam pool stick float-racing. After getting dry and dressed, we hit the Distillery District, hoping for some good food and a taste of some gritty old-school industrial vibe. Unfortunately, we discovered that the place had been gentrified to death and was packed with yuppies and $40-a-plate restaurants. I suppose it’s better to strip-mall such places than to lose them entirely, but can’t we keep at least a little of the original flavor rather than turning them into some kind of Disney-Main-Street-USA theme park version of their former selves? Anyway, we managed to find one place called “1832″ that wasn’t terribly expensive and enjoyed an outstanding meal. After that, it was back to the hotel and to bed.

My room at the hotel is next door to, and shares a bathroom wall with, a person that I have come to privately call the Urinator. All night, and throughout most of the day, the toilet in that room flushes every 45 minutes to 1.5 hours. Sometimes it flushes only once, sometimes a few times in a row. I know the room is occupied, rather than suffering from some mysterious plumbing malady, because there’s a copy of the paper outside the door every morning. I’m not sure what the Urinator’s problem is, but I’m sure he/she deserves my sympathy. I just find it a little hard to give when I’m being kept awake by constant flushing. I have yet to meet the Urinator face-to-face, and I’m pretty sure I’d just avert my eyes and walk quickly down the hall if I did. Something about calling someone the Urinator in your inner monologue makes normal interpersonal conversation seem highly unlikely.

Tonight is the boat tour, which should be fun. I’ll post more later. Special thanks for this post goes to Colleen, who is letting me borrow her laptop so I don’t have to suffer the 10 minute time limit of the Resource Center and the accusatory stares of its guardians. Thanks! :-D