windows
waving goodbye to windows - part 1
Okay, so the title might be a little misleading. I waved goodbye to Windows in favor of Linux (obligatory "I use Arch, btw") some time ago. Given that my personal laptop's hardware was of the 2016 era, I just couldn't run Windows very well any longer. Not that I wanted to anyway. I opted for an Arch-based distribution called CachyOS, set it up once, and didn't fiddle with it at all. It worked great! But as the aging hardware continued to cause problems, it became apparent that it was time to mov...
Digirig reporting incorrect channel count on Windows
ClickFix Fixes Ranked
The cool thing about ClickFix remediation is nobody walks away happy.
ClickFix Fixes Ranked
The cool thing about ClickFix remediation is nobody walks away happy.
ClickFix Fixes Ranked
The cool thing about ClickFix remediation is nobody walks away happy.
ClickFix Fixes Ranked
The cool thing about ClickFix remediation is nobody walks away happy.
Don’t Forget The Forgotten Tech User
Windows 10’s end-of-life points to the sheer neglect that computer users face when their world isn’t completely defined by technology.
I really dislike computers sometimes
I’ve got to figure something out with the arrangement of my bedroom/office. Right now, I have two desks in the shape of an L in the corner. This corner is necessary because that’s where the outlets are. One of the desks holds my gaming PC, and the other desk holds my main Linux workstation along with my NAS and homelab machines. I’d rather have: (1) one desk for my gaming PC and Linux workstation, and (2) the other desk for my homelab equipment.
Windows On Linux, The Clever Way
Forget WINE; a weirdly fascinating technique to make Photoshop work on Linux involves chopping up a remote access client into a windowing interface. It’s wild, but it kinda works.
The Floater Manifesto
Our technology should be good enough to work across operating systems now. The best way to test that is by using literally every platform. Which is what I plan to do.
Too Close To The Kernel
The CrowdStrike mess points out just how close some developers get to the kernel—and efforts to lock things down will help highlight the tension between security and user choice.
sudo embrace
Microsoft’s decision to introduce sudo for Windows is strangely symbolic of how influential UNIX has been even on non-UNIX ecosystems.
Mac All The Keyboards
The standard Macintosh keyboard layout makes it easy to add writer-desired special characters without pulling up a menu or relying on software trickery. Here’s how to get it on Linux and Windows.
These Eyes Are Trackin’
Pondering the tale of Gator, a company that created a password manager way back in 1999, but ruined goodwill by going full spyware. (Oops, I mean adware.)
Plug and Pray
Why an early design decision around the IBM PC created the need for an innovation called plug and play—something we very much take for granted today.
Bog-Standard Multimedia
Why the PC industry standardized on multimedia in the early ’90s, and why that standardization effort didn’t really last.
Windows, Minimized
Windows CE was supposed to power everything but the PC. But its identity was seen as a threat to Windows proper.
Painting Outside The Lines
Adobe was already a big company when it first sold Photoshop, but its biggest competitor, Paint Shop Pro, was built by an airline pilot in his free time.
The Other Windows
Before Windows became a fact of life for most computer users, a scrappy upstart named GeoWorks tried taking Microsoft on. It failed, but it gave us AOL.
Photon Phailure
Microsoft’s late-era Windows Phone 7 did away with a decade of evolution. Its Photon project tried to do the same—while keeping the Windows Mobile legacy alive.
The Ghosts of Windows 3.1
The weird places that Windows 3.1 showed up throughout the ’90s, including a hated CD-i competitor and an unusual update of the Commodore 64.
Double Trouble
How a court battle involving groundbreaking disk-compression software foreshadowed Microsoft’s status as an antitrust darling.
Window Dressing
When macOS was still OS X, some Windows users weren't afraid to remake their desktops in Apple's vision. It was the ultimate case of imitation and flattery.
A Window Into Windex
From cleaning solutions to spray nozzles, the technology that made cleaning windows possible. And where did the word squeegee come from, anyway?
Lessons From The Video Professor
For more than 20 years, John Scherer’s Video Professor offered instructional videos and discs to make computers accessible to novices. Where did it go?