I've finally had it with Microsoft Windows. Over the last couple of weeks, I've experienced the following on a couple of Windows boxes (Vista and XP):

• unprompted restarting as a result of an update being installed; this cost me an unsaved game of Hellfire
• hanging during operations involving large numbers of files (on Vista)
• Windows Explohder has taken to hanging when displaying new windows; often when I hit 'Win+E' I get a window title and border but nothing inside it
• BSODs on my wife's laptop when she plugs her iPhone in; not my iPhone, only hers

After restarting Explorer for the third time yesterday while trying to do a simple file copy, I decided that I would make my laptop a Windows-free zone, running only Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope (plus Wine for a few Windows games like Hellfire).

Now I have an extra 50GB space on my hard drive, and still have the ability to run my favourite Windows games using either Wine or DOSBox:





As far as modern software goes, I'm using the following Linux software in place of Windows software (in fact I've been doing this for several years now, for the most part - the difference is that I'm now using the Linux alternatives 100% of the time):

1. Evolution in place of Outlook
2. K3B in place of Nero
3. Rythmbox in place of iTunes
4. Emacs in place of ... well ... Visual Studio, SlickEdit, mIRC, IDLE, and RadRails for starters :-)
5. FlightGear in place of MS Flight Simulator
6. VLC in place of Windows Media Player
7. Grip in place of FreeRip

The rest of the programs I use on a regular basis - including Firefox, Skype, Pidgin, OpenOffice, and LyX - all run as happily on Linux as they do on Windows. In fact, they're happier, given how much more stable I find Ubuntu 9.04 is than either Windows XP or Vista. It's hard for a program to run well if the operating system on which it runs is misbehaving all the time.

I'll still be using Windows from time to time, as the client component of our forthcoming product is Windows-based (using .NET). But my laptop is now a 100% Windows-free zone and it feels good :-)

[If you have any requests for more information - say for example instructions for your favourite operating system or email client - please either post a comment, or email me.]

The Need for Digital Signing

Nowadays, the content you post on the Internet is a determinant of your reputation.

Most people are sufficiently net-savvy to realise that what they post under their own names online is easily searchable - a quick Google search for either me or Armin will show (amongst a bunch of results for different Duncans and Armins) what we've written about technology, politics, philosophy and religion back to the mid 90s - back when Usenet was a Big Thing and Windows 95 had just been released.

Given how important digital content is, it becomes important that people are able to know that something purporting to be written by you was really written by you, and that it if it was, that it hasn't been tampered by anyone since you wrote it.

This post is a classic example; someone is purporting to have forwarded an email from a public figure (Leonard Peikoff), but those receiving it can't be sure that it's genuine and unaltered. All they can do is ask him, and trust that he's telling the truth.

The solution to this problem is to digitally sign your posts and emails.

This is, frankly,amazingly cool.  With a bit (alright, a lot) of fiddling around I've got Cygwin running sufficiently well on Vista that I can use said operating system to test out an idea (specifically: emitting WSDL from Ruby based on ActiveRecord objects, and having Visual Studio build a .NET 2.0 - based web service client from that).

Anyway, here's what it looks like:

Personally I'm quite chuffed.  I'll be posting details - along with an archive of my emacs setup - shortly.

After reading this blog post by Rupert Goodwins I realised why Microsoft only allows virtualisation of their most expensive Vista variants: they want to provide a barrier to people doing exactly what Goodwins suggests, that is, running Windows-only software on a virtual PC on a non-Windows operating system.

Credit to LifeHacker for bringing PalmVista Simple Installer to my attention (follow the link; the app is at the bottom of the page).  It looks to be a quick & easy way of installing apps and data to a Palm device from Vista. 

I'll post more details once I've tried it for myself.  If you've tried it, please post a comment & let me (& those readers who happen to use Palm Pilots) know how you got on.

Finally there is a Windows Vista Support Page up on the Palm website. It looks like support is still fairly patchy - there is a non-trivial list of known incompatibilities - but at least they're on the right track. There's no explicit mention of older devices like the Visor series, but they do claim support for "all Palm OS devices."

If you get stuck, check out HOWTO: Palm Pilot / Handspring Visor HotSync under Vista for a less official, but perfectly functional, way of getting your Palm Pilot going with Vista

Joe has verified that my guide to HotSyncing a Palm Pilot on Windows Vista works on Vista RTM, too.  Thanks Joe  

Well, Palm have proved themselves utterly uninterested in providing me with decent customer support. So, I've put together this post containing some background on the problem, and instructions for those who wish to get their Palm device going with Windows Vista.

The CSR at Palm with whom I've been communicating could neither confirm nor deny forthcoming support for older devices like my Visor under Windows Vista. In desparation, I even called their corporate offices in Australia, & received the same pathetic response: they simply didn't know whether my PDA will, or will not, be supported come the release of Vista.

To quote an email I received from their CSR:

As we have indicated in our last email, our development team has not provided any updates or feedback regarding the development and release of drivers for Palm handhelds to support Windows® Vista OS synchronization.

Rest assured that any updates and developments would be posted on our website or indicated on our newsletter.

We do understand your frustration and need to verify the availability of these drivers and we would like to provide a more accurate answer to your enquiry, however, no news has been forwarded. Should there be any developments and official releases, they are all posted on our website.

Now, those who know me, know I'm a wee bit prone to tilting at windmills. So, after much reading, struggling & cursing, I can suggest the following steps for those of us wanting to HotSync older Palm devices under Vista:

1. Install the Palm software and drivers under Windows XP SP2, and perform at least one hotsync.
2. Export the registry key [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\U.S. Robotics] from Windows XP SP2.
3. Boot into Windows Vista Beta 2.
4. Press the HotSync button on the Visor cradle, & use the Device Manager to update the drivers. When prompted, don't have Vista search online for drivers, but instruct it to search in the USB_Driver directory on your Windows XP SP2 partition (in my case, this was D:\Program Files\Palm\USB_Driver).
5. Then, ensure the HotSync Manager is not running (right-click on the systray icon, and choose exit).
6. Import the registry key you exported in step 2.
7. Set the HotSync Manager (HOTSYNC.EXE) to run as Administrator, and run in Windows XP SP2 compatibility mode.
8. Restart the machine and boot into Vista.

Handspring Visor HotSync actually working under Vista

Sadly, you'll have to dismiss a UAC dialog each time you boot, as HotSync Manager will now need Administrator privileges to run. However, you should find that when you next press the HotSync button on the Palm (or the cradle, if you're using a Visor), the HotSync will run properly.

Thanks to the good folks on Palm Help Forums and PDA Street Forums for providing me with enough information to piece the above strategy together - and raspberries to Palm for their total lack of support.

Update 19th January 2010: Having learned nothing from the Vista support fiasco, Palm are now dragging their heels over Windows 7 support, and have reached an even lower standard of customer support than before.

Well, that's a pity. It seems there aren't yet any drivers available for my Handspring Visor Deluxe.

Installing the Palm Desktop software under Vista

The Palm Desktop software installs just fine, as you can see from the above screenshot, but Vista can't find any drivers, so the HotSynch operation fails. In a fit of optimism, I've sent Palm an email asking them whether they expect to continue support for Vista with the Visor Deluxe, but honestly I'd be surprised if they do.

I recently told a friend of mine that I was trying out Vista - knowing my historical antagonism towards MS products, his understandable response was:

Did you just say a M$ windows OS was "pretty bloody good"?

His confusion was I suspect exacerbated by the fact that I'd uninstalled my Mandriva Linux partition in order to try out Vista. What on earth had prompted this apparently huge change in digital lifestyle?

OpenOffice and Firefox under Vista Beta 2