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Has the Ribbon been accepted?
Replacing the familiar menus and Task Panes with the Ribbon in Office 2007 was a bold move. I like it, as does my wife who started using it without any introduction when she started using my notebook. But I know from the comments we’ve received on this blog that not everyone agrees with me.
It seems like the interface is here to stay, and not just with Office. The various accessories in Windows 7, like Paint, now have a ribbon as do some third party programs like MindManager.
According to Computerworld, Mozilla is considering introducing a ribbon to Firefox. And Firefox isn’t the first open source program to look in this direction, there have been some early ideas for Open Office as well.
I just hope that designers take the Ribbon properly to heart and make it a complete replacement for the old menus. It’s very frustrating to have to press Alt to display the old menu bars because an option I want isn’t in the toolbars or menus in Windows Media Player or Internet Explorer.
As a small aside, I’m less keen on the decision to move the menu button from the top left. It’s easy to miss it and click on the icon above instead. User interface design considers corners to be infinite in size because you can’t miss them. Returning the application icon to the top left hand corner is likely to introduce even more confusion.
iTunes, updated
Apple has released an update for iTunes 9. It should come through on Apple Software Update, otherwise you can download the iTunes installer.
Here are the release notes from the Apple Software Update utility (I couldn’t find them on the Apple website.)
iTunes 9.0.1 provides a number of important bug fixes, including:
• Resolves issues browsing the iTunes Store.
• Addresses a performance issue where iTunes may become unresponsive.
• Fixes a problem where iTunes may unexpectedly quit.
• Fixes a problem syncing Podcasts in playlists to iPod or iPhone.
• Fixes a problem sorting albums with multiple discs.
• Improves application syncing for iPod touch and iPhone.
• Genius is now automatically updated to show Genius Mixes.
(I still have no idea why the Update utility is anxious to install the iPhone Configuration Utility, given that I’ve never plugged an iPhone or iPod into my computer.)
Network security with a sense of humour
One of the dangers of a wireless home network is neighbours using the internet connection that you pay for. The best advice is to enable WPA security on the network to make people enter a password to use the site. I also hide the SSID of the network and am considering using MAC filtering; only allowing access to specific network adapters
This is all well and good, but if you favour the philosophy of ‘Don’t get mad, get even’, you may want to consider the Upside-Down-Ternet. It’s a little technical, but the results are quite funny. If someone connects to the network without permission, all the images in web pages are run through a local webserver, flipping them upside down in the process.
It pretty much makes the web unusable. All you need is a way of hearing the reaction of the connection thieves when you turn it on! Still the idea was made into a cartoon by the ever excellent xkcd.
Windows 7, or should that be Windows 6?
It seems the problem of having different internal and external version numbers hasn’t been fixed in Windows 7. If a program asks for the Operating System version, it is told NT6.1.
Hopefully this won’t affect most people because all they’ll see is Windows 7. But it can depend on whether programs know how to interpret NT6.1. For example Opera 10 identifies Windows 7 as NT6.1. It’s just one more thing for me to hold in mind when answering questions. A lot of people used to mistake their Office version for Windows ending up with Windows 97 confusion.
The problem is described in more detail on the Windows Vista Developer Centre. The also have the honesty to mark the impact frequency as high.
HT to the Microsoft Schools Blog which mentioned this oddity when discussing their web traffic stats.
Firefox 3.5.3 warns of insecure Flash Player
We’re used to Firefox checking add-ons after an upgrade but the latest update has some extra advice on the webpage opened after restarting. There’s been an update to Adobe Flash for both security and stability. Keeping add-ons and such up to date on Firefox can become a confusing business so any extra help is most welcome
Security through awareness
The debate about which operating system is the most secure is unlikely to ever end, but it's important to remember that security is as much about people as technology.
Reading The Art of Deception by the infamous hacker Kevin Mitnick shows that the easiest way to break into computer systems is to fool the owners, not try and find vulnerabilities.
This is neatly summed up in an article on the ESET blog called Is Apple's Snow Leopard Immune to Malware? The answer of course lies as much with the users as the operating system.
Windows users have the advantage of being aware that there are threats and that they could infect their computers. I nearly replied to a phishing email earlier in the week because it was so well written. Had I been certain of my computers invulnerability to malware, I may well have clicked on the link.
And before you flame me, please remember that viruses are no longer the main form of infection on computers any more.
To stay safe you should always think carefully before installing any software, whether complete or add-ons for browser and other software, and keep your passwords safe
Remember, remember the 30th September
At least as far as your Freeview box is concerned. There are changes being made to the Freeview network on Wednesday 30 September and all Freeview tuners need to be retuned to be updated. That includes digital televisions as well as standalone boxes, hard disk recorders and Windows Media Center computers. It's easy to forget that these computer have standard tuners in them.
The re-tune should improve reception of Channel Five and is part of the preparations for switching off the old analogue network.
More information can be found on the TV Re-tune website. It does recommend periodically retuning Freeview devices. It's sound advice as this has fixed odd problems on my box in the past, especially when channels move to different numbers.
Disk Cleanup and Hibernation
I wrote yesterday about the large amount of disk space I was able to save thanks to the Disk Cleanup wizard. If you use hibernate on your computer, then there is a small word of caution. Don’t select the option Hibernation File Cleaner.
Although you will retrieve the space used for the hibernation file, hibernation will be disabled and you will have to go back into Power Properties in the Control Panel to turn it back on. The amount of space needed will be roughly equal to the amount of RAM in your computer.
There is a warning in the Disk Cleanup window but, like most people I imagine, I didn’t read it the first time I selected the option.
I couldn’t find this option in the Windows XP Disk Cleanup wizard. I don’t recommend trying to delete the file by hand.
Windows Live Sync
Windows Live Sync is a useful utility for keeping files up to date between different computers. It needs a Windows Live account to work (sign up with this link) but it costs nothing to sign up.
Go to https://sync.live.com and log in with your account details. Click on the Go get it link to download the installer and then run it.
Live Sync doesn’t start automatically after installation so you’ll have to find it in the Start Menu. It appears as a pair of blue arrows in the Notification Area. Right-click on it and then left-click on website to set up the account.
You can set up private and public folders in case you want to share files with friends. This screen also shows which computers in your network are only. I’ve got one as you can see with the green button.
There is an activity window (also opened via the Notification icon) so you can keep an eye on the progress of downloads.
Settings are fairly straightforward and most people will never need to even look at them. Transfers are encrypted and remote access is disabled by default. Both of which are good decisions.
There is one important limitation with Live Sync that nearly caused me some grief. It only syncs the files in the folders between your computers. There is no central area in the Windows Live to store files when the computers are off. Given that a Windows Live account comes with 25Gb of online storage space, this seems a wasted opportunity. And renders Live Sync useless if you need to sync files between computers that are never on at the same time.
There are various alternatives to Live Sync but they do require more work. A USB key is one option, but then you have to remember to keep it with you at all times. The Briefcase in Windows should keep files up to date.
Hosting the files on some web hosting space is another alternative, but then you still need software to move the files between the computer and host. Security could be a problem here as well.
Having said that, your files on Live Sync (and SkyDrive) are only safe as your password is complicated, so make it a good one.
Where my disk space went
I know that using an 80Gb hard disk for Vista was likely to lead to space problems, but what I hadn’t realised was how much space I could have saved by running the Disk Cleanup wizard.
I spent about an hour last night going through my folders trying to find the missing GB that I couldn’t account for. Not having had much luck, I gave the Disk Cleanup wizard a go.
What a discovery. 10.7Gb had been used for ‘System queued Windows Error Reporting’. I’m guessing that’s memory dumps, and with 2GB of RAM that probably doesn’t mean that many crashes. It’s still a huge amount of space and has a lot to do with the constant warning of low space in the Computer window.
I also had 6.29GB of temporary files and a thumbnails file of 1.78GB.
Leaving thumbnails aside, I’ve managed to free 19.5GB of space. A quarter of the disk.
The moral of the story: Run Disk Cleanup on a regular basis
Nominate a Digital Hero
For all the benefits they bring, computers and the internet often get a bad press with security and fraud news. Here’s something positive for a change, the TalkTalk Digital Heroes Awards, also involving Citizens Online.
There are 12 regional awards for individuals who have brought some kind of benefit to their local communities with IT. Each winner will receive a cash grant of £5,000 to fund digital projects. Of these winners, one overall winner will receive £10,000 plus free broadband.
There’s not long to make you’re nomination though, the awards close on September 11. Click here for the entry form.
